D&D General elf definition semantic shenanigans

[Corinnguard]

I'm increasingly convinced that racial Stat mods arent actually needed and should be left floating.

What we do know about Wookies is that they are a large (tall), arboreal humanoid
So converting them to 5e we make Wookies medium-sized, with an Aboreal trait (Climb Speed/Athletics) and Powerful build (treated as large for lift/pull etc).

Then let a PC who wants to play a Wookie can put his stat mods where he wants maybe Dex+2 and Int+1 (Technology).
Given Chewbacca's tendency to tear limbs off people who offended him, he might choose the Str +2 and a feat: Rending Grapple* (is Chewbacca still the only canon Wookie to do that, or has it be generalised across the species?)

Star Wars 5e I came across this website a couple months ago. A 5th edition D&D take on the Star Wars universe.

WOOKIEE TRAITS​

As a Wookiee, you have the following special traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Wookiees reach adulthood at about 40 and can live to be 400.
Alignment. Wookiees tend toward the light side, though there are exceptions.
Size. Wookiees tend to tower over other species, reaching heights over 8 feet and weighing 300 pounds. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Claws. Your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. Additionally, your unarmed strikes deal 1d4 kinetic damage.
Darkvision. Your vision can easily cut through darkness. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Hide. You have a thick hide. While you are unarmored or wearing light armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. Additionally, you have advantage on Constitution saving throws made to avoid exhaustion due to extreme cold.
Menacing. You have proficiency in the Intimidation skill.
Powerful Build. Your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift doubles. If it would already double, it instead triples.
Treeclimber. You have a climbing speed of 30 feet. You have advantage on Strength saving throws and Strength (Athletics) checks that involve climbing.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Shyriiwook. You can understand spoken and written Galactic Basic, but your vocal cords do not allow you to speak it.

 

[Remathilis]

I'm increasingly convinced that racial Stat mods arent actually needed and should be left floating.

What we do know about Wookies is that they are a large (tall), arboreal humanoid
So converting them to 5e we make Wookies medium-sized, with an Aboreal trait (Climb Speed/Athletics) and Powerful build (treated as large for lift/pull etc).

Then let a PC who wants to play a Wookie can put his stat mods where he wants maybe Dex+2 and Int+1 (Technology).
Given Chewbacca's tendency to tear limbs off people who offended him, he might choose the Str +2 and a feat: Rending Grapple* (is Chewbacca still the only canon Wookie to do that, or has it be generalised across the species?)

We also don't know how strong Chewie is supposed to be. Most RPGs assume wookees are strong, but it's not like Chewie does anything a normal human couldn't do. There is a reference to wookees ripping a droid's arms out of their sockets, but Han could have been exaggerating to scare Threepio.

 

[Remathilis]

Star Wars 5e I came across this website a couple months ago. A 5th edition D&D take on the Star Wars universe.

I opted for the EotE because it was the last official Star Wars RPG. No one is going to complain about a fan project not adhering to current design principles and it's not fair to use SAGA, an RPG that stopped being punished over a decade ago to adhere to 2018 RPG design standards.

No one is making a big fuss about wookees being stronger than ewoks because the Star Wars RPG is a tiny niche of a tiny niche. Even people who are fans of Star Wars and RPGs aren't aware there is a Star Wars RPGs. If EotE was as big as D&D, maybe there would be changes made.

 

[Bagpuss]

Or they could be like the metahumans in Shadowrun. Phenotypically they all appear different to one another, but genetically they are all the same.

Clearly they are not genetically the same, as two individuals born to the same parents aren't even genetically the same.

 

[Bagpuss]

Huh. I'd always assumed they were subspecies.

Technically I believe they are, but that term (for some people) seems to have negative connotations (due the the "sub") even though homo sapiens (modern humans) would also effectively be another subspecies level with the metahumans, since they can breed with metahumans.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Technically I believe they are, but that term (for some people) seems to have negative connotations (due the the "sub") even though homo sapiens (modern humans) would also effectively be another subspecies level with the metahumans, since they can breed with metahumans.

Yeah, that'd be my take on it; that humans and the various metahumans are all subspecies of an overarching species, but the metahumans can't express the traits that make them distinct without a certain mana level, so they just seem like humans.

 

[Mind of tempest]

We also don't know how strong Chewie is supposed to be. Most RPGs assume wookees are strong, but it's not like Chewie does anything a normal human couldn't do. There is a reference to wookees ripping a droid's arms out of their sockets, but Han could have been exaggerating to scare Threepio.

given wookees are said to be albe to rip humans arms of they are likely as strong as most great apes.

Clearly they are not genetically the same, as two individuals born to the same parents aren't even genetically the same.

it is more all Metahumans in shadow run are homo sapiens just affected slightly differently under the increased background magic to the point humans gave birth to all other varieties and if the background magic dropped they would all produce humans again

 

[Bagpuss]

it is more all Metahumans in shadow run are homo sapiens just affected slightly differently under the increased background magic to the point humans gave birth to all other varieties and if the background magic dropped they would all produce humans again

While all homo sapiens, there are likely genetic markers for if dwarves, elves, trolls, etc. just as there are for red hair. An orc, elf pairing won't spontaneously give birth to a troll, but they can give birth to an orc, elf or even a human by my understanding.

 

[Remathilis]

given wookees are said to be albe to rip humans arms of they are likely as strong as most great apes.

Chewbacca : Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!
C-3PO : He made a fair move. Screaming about it can't help you.
Han Solo : Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a Wookiee.
C-3PO : But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid.
Han Solo : That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that.
Chewbacca : Grrf.
C-3PO : I see your point, sir. I suggest a new strategy, R2: let the Wookiee win

I am sure the point was to mention how wookiees are known for their temper. Despite that line, we never actually see Chewie do anything that would require that kind of strength. I just don't think you can pull a definite notion of how strong a wookiee is from Han's casual threat.

(Note, I'm not arguing Chewie, or wookiees in general, are not strong. I just don't think that without diving deep into EU lore, we can determine if wookiees are all that much stronger than humans.)

 

[Corinnguard]

I liked the epigenetic idea that was mentioned a couple postings ago. According to Wikipedia, epigenetics is the study of heritable traits, or a stable change of cell function, that happen without changes to the DNA sequence.[1] The Greek prefix epi- (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in epigenetics implies features that are "on top of" or "in addition to" the traditional (DNA sequence based) genetic mechanism of inheritance.[2] Epigenetics usually involves a change that is not erased by cell division, and affects the regulation of gene expression.[3] Such effects on cellular and physiological phenotypic traits may result from environmental factors, or be part of normal development.

So while the DNA of the various metahumans in Shadowrun is still human DNA, there are epigene markers for each kind of metahuman and magic use that are activated only in the presence of ambient magic.