Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
A species description needs to be broad, suggestive, versatile, and open-ended.
Note. I hate setting-specific assumptions in the core rules. I need the species description and the class description to work well in almost any kind of setting, whether Euro-esque medieval or near-future high tech.
To my surprise, I am comfortable with Backgrounds being highly setting specific. A Background is self-evidently specific to a setting. For a different setting, the DM plugs in different Backgrounds. The players and the DM can agree to add other Backgrounds.
Ideally, each species gives a setting-neutral species description, about one or two paragraphs to get the gist of what a species can be about in a way that can play out in almost any setting. Then. The species also gives three examples of cultures, where the species is prominent. These cultures are where the "default setting" of Forgotten Realms can happen.
For the Elf, the three cultures would be one specific locale of a High culture (such as the Elf-majority city of Leuthilspar on a less-racist version of the island of Evermeet, where this city is also a planar Fey Crossing), an other specific locale of a Wood culture, and an other specific locale of a Drow culture (maybe Uda cultural Menzoberranzan but perhaps a less Evil locale somewhere else for the sake of the Core Rules).
Each cultural description suggests a list of Backgrounds. Some of these Backgrounds are highly specific, such as Bladesinger Military Academic in Leuthilspar, or an Adamantine Armorer in a Lorendrow mining locale where the mining activities are eco-friendly under the rainforest canopy.
Other species, including Orc, Gnome, Dwarf, Dragonborn, each comes with three sample cultures. For a Gnome culture, I have in mind a Forgotten Realms city reminiscent of Valley of the Mage, whose citizens are about equally Gnome, Human, and Elf, each functioning within an advanced magi-tech magocratic culture.
A culture should be for a specific major city and its environs. Or a comparable size for a nonurban culture. Example in the Euro-American-esque continent of Faerun the Sword Coast cities can split into separate cultures. Icewind Dales, Neverwinter, Waterdeep, and Baldurs Gate are each a locale with its own environs and its own cultural descriptions.
Honestly, I want to see Greyhawk and Blackmoor be cities in Forgotten Realms, and could be examples of Human-majority cities, each with its own cultural milieu.
Because of limited page space, it is difficult to say whether the city Backgrounds should nearby each other to give a feel for the adventuring environment − all in Euro-American-esque Western Faerun − or oppositely be cities around the planet of Toril. I lean toward Western Faerun with enclaves from around the planet because of various historical migrations.
The Human/Elf should also have three example cultures, including one where the Human/Elf is privileged and an other where the Human/Elf feels marginalized.
Note. I hate setting-specific assumptions in the core rules. I need the species description and the class description to work well in almost any kind of setting, whether Euro-esque medieval or near-future high tech.
To my surprise, I am comfortable with Backgrounds being highly setting specific. A Background is self-evidently specific to a setting. For a different setting, the DM plugs in different Backgrounds. The players and the DM can agree to add other Backgrounds.
Ideally, each species gives a setting-neutral species description, about one or two paragraphs to get the gist of what a species can be about in a way that can play out in almost any setting. Then. The species also gives three examples of cultures, where the species is prominent. These cultures are where the "default setting" of Forgotten Realms can happen.
For the Elf, the three cultures would be one specific locale of a High culture (such as the Elf-majority city of Leuthilspar on a less-racist version of the island of Evermeet, where this city is also a planar Fey Crossing), an other specific locale of a Wood culture, and an other specific locale of a Drow culture (maybe Uda cultural Menzoberranzan but perhaps a less Evil locale somewhere else for the sake of the Core Rules).
Each cultural description suggests a list of Backgrounds. Some of these Backgrounds are highly specific, such as Bladesinger Military Academic in Leuthilspar, or an Adamantine Armorer in a Lorendrow mining locale where the mining activities are eco-friendly under the rainforest canopy.
Other species, including Orc, Gnome, Dwarf, Dragonborn, each comes with three sample cultures. For a Gnome culture, I have in mind a Forgotten Realms city reminiscent of Valley of the Mage, whose citizens are about equally Gnome, Human, and Elf, each functioning within an advanced magi-tech magocratic culture.
A culture should be for a specific major city and its environs. Or a comparable size for a nonurban culture. Example in the Euro-American-esque continent of Faerun the Sword Coast cities can split into separate cultures. Icewind Dales, Neverwinter, Waterdeep, and Baldurs Gate are each a locale with its own environs and its own cultural descriptions.
Honestly, I want to see Greyhawk and Blackmoor be cities in Forgotten Realms, and could be examples of Human-majority cities, each with its own cultural milieu.
Because of limited page space, it is difficult to say whether the city Backgrounds should nearby each other to give a feel for the adventuring environment − all in Euro-American-esque Western Faerun − or oppositely be cities around the planet of Toril. I lean toward Western Faerun with enclaves from around the planet because of various historical migrations.
The Human/Elf should also have three example cultures, including one where the Human/Elf is privileged and an other where the Human/Elf feels marginalized.
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