D&D 4E Handling subraces in 4e campaign settings?

[Kaffis]

So, in a thread I was reading sometime last week, I saw some speculation on what the eladrin/elves information we've seen means for settings in which elf subraces are strongly differentiated and the subrace status is deemed important to their relations? FR seems an apt example, with grey, sun, wild, and wood elves, as well as drow (and I'm probably forgetting one, heh). How does having the eladrin "kill the sun elves and take their stuff" as a much more distinct, full-fledged race affect the status of elves in the FR setting?

Or, since FR is big on subraces, how will the various varieties of gnome and dwarf be handled, as well?

So, I got to thinking some, and it seems likely that much of this might be handled in 4e by simply offering racial talent trees that broadly define all varieties of a race, and then let individual campaign settings lay out the "subraces" simply as combinations of the talent trees that may be chosen, along with fluff detailing the standard stuff about their personality and relations with other races, etc.

Thus, in the default setting, an elf could look much like a 3e wild elf, or a 3e wood elf, or a 3e grey elf, or some unholy combination... a generic dwarf could have traits associated with 3e hill dwarves, 3e mountain dwarves, etc.

Thoughts?

 

[exile]

I think I would take it a step beyond that and have talent trees open to all members of a race, then have an entire talent tree for each of the distinct subraces.

Chad

 

[Atlatl Jones]

I'd like to see two different approaches:

1) For subraces that are more like unique races in their own rights, like Drow and Svirfneblin, they should become their own distinct race, and get rid of the idea of "subraces." Wizards seems to be taking this approach by using Elves for the naturalistic forest elves, and Eladrin for the magical and ancient elves.

2) For subraces that have little practical difference from the base race, like the various dwarf, gnome, and halfling subraces, there should be only one "race". Then you can differentiate between then with different racial talent trees.

 

[Perun]

1) For subraces that are more like unique races in their own rights, like Drow and Svirfneblin, they should become their own distinct race, and get rid of the idea of "subraces." Wizards seems to be taking this approach by using Elves for the naturalistic forest elves, and Eladrin for the magical and ancient elves.

From what's been hinted at in various interviews and designer snippets, this seems likely. We know 4e will have drow, they've been mentioned a number of times, and it only follows that similar subraces, i.e. those that are far removed from the original stock (like having abilities drastically different from what other subraces possess), like svirfneblin or duergar, will receive similar treatment.

2) For subraces that have little practical difference from the base race, like the various dwarf, gnome, and halfling subraces, there should be only one "race". Then you can differentiate between then with different racial talent trees.

I believe one of the articles on the WotC site said that any differences between subraces will be cultural ones.

Regards.

 

[Li Shenron]

Rather than talent trees, I think sort-of substitution levels during the race progression would work.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

They'll probably slaughter most sub-races in the Realms. It seems, for example, that all the Duergar deities are dead now, so I guess they will all commit ritual suicide over that, driven crazy by the spellplague (which affected their magical powers, so they all became large and invisible, didn't notice the size because of the invisibility and fatally hit their head on the now-too-low door).