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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ainamacar" data-source="post: 5524669" data-attributes="member: 70709">I want different races in a fictional setting to have a reason for being.  If it works with the specific setting and subgenre, then pursue it.  For RPG systems, especially those that are designed as systems first and settings second, I strongly prefer lots of races to be available, with the explicit understanding that the setting determines what races are actually present, and not the other way around.  That makes homebrewing a lot easier, and the system much more flexible.  Exclude away in my opinion: like in poetry, choice exclusions can lead to richness.  (As does careful inclusion.)One thing I wish for RPG systems is for the race=culture idea to largely die off.  Instead, I prefer races (species really) to be limited to those aspects which are actually physically determined.  Then the mechanical effects, if any, of culture are represented in separate packages that apply wholly or in part to any creature raised in that culture.  This encourages multiple cultures per race (when desired) and eases the mechanical issues of "elf raised by dwarves" scenarios and other unusual backgrounds.The degree to which race or culture determines a character's abilities is a matter of taste (this is nature vs. nurture in a fictional setting after all) but it could certainly lead to interesting places.  For example, in a 4e-like system, perhaps one of the ability boosts could be from race, and the other is from culture.  Consider this extremely undercooked revision of the 4e dwarf (I'm not arguing about the particular mechanics):Dwarf (racial):Medium sizeSpeed 5Low-light vision+2 ConstitutionCast-Iron StomachEncumbered SpeedStand Your GroundDwarf (Cultural):Dwarves locked in underground war with drow and duergar.+2 Strength or +2 Wisdom+2 Dungeoneering+2 EnduranceProficiency with throwing hammer and warhammerDwarven ResilienceDwarf (Cultural):Dwarven community living in a cosmopolitan surface city with a tradition of very comprehensive education.+2 Intelligence or +2 Wisdom+2 History+2 InsightMay make a knowledge check vs DC ? against all creature types present at start of encounter.  On success, all your attacks against that type during encounter score a critical hit on a natural roll two less than usually required.Encounter utility: Reroll a knowledge check and keep better resultAnd if dwarves don't exist in that particular world, it's easy enough to say either of the two cultures above refer just as well to humans in similar situations.</blockquote>

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