D&D General How many mechanical features does a race need to feel "right"?

[ART!]

Age
Size
Speed
Alignment
ASI
2 or 3 Special Rules
Racial Feats
Backgrounds
Language

And every one of them should have mechanical impact in some capacity.

Would those racial feats be like feats in 5E and available only at certain class levels that allow feat picks? Would any of the feats listed with a race be available to other races?

Would any of the backgrounds listed with a race be available to other races?

 

[Scribe]

Would those racial feats be like feats in 5E and available only at certain class levels that allow feat picks? Would any of the feats listed with a race be available to other races?

Would any of the backgrounds listed with a race be available to other races?

Restrictions would ideally be present (Level, Attribute Scores, etc). Some feats would be race restricted, some open to a subset, same with backgrounds.

 

[Weiley31]

Most of the time I'd just add Racial/Heritage Weapons to races that never had em before.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Sometimes, it's okay for a race to be really simple. Using 4e as an example, Humans were special because their features were powerful but simple: any single stat could get +2, you got a bonus feat (the only race which had this), a bonus at-will attack (or Heroic Effort later), a bonus skill training with no restrictions (e.g. not just a class skill), and a small bonus to all non-AC defenses. Nothing fancy, but something plenty of characters could leverage very well.

Turning to 5e, I think the default Dragonborn give us an excellent baseline for a not-quite-sufficient race. They've got exactly four things: +2 to one stat (Str) and +1 to another (Cha), Draconic as a bonus language, resistance to one chosen element, and a short-rest breath weapon. Thing is...that resistance is kinda bland and minimal as far as features go, and the breath weapon isn't much better.

Unfortunately, several other PHB races (dwarves, elves, and particularly half-elves) are rather above the curve instead of below it, so the original default dragonborn really stick out like a sore thumb. It's part of why they were the first race to get a true "complete replacement" thing, 'cause they kinda needed it.

For my part, if Dragonborn had had (a) some additional, skill- or utility-focused feature, and (b) some additional hardiness- or regeneration-focused feature, I would have been perfectly happy. As an example:

Proud History. Dragonborn have a knack for remembering the great deeds of the past--whether as something to measure themselves against, or as lessons to be learned from. You have proficiency in the History skill, or Expertise if your class or background provides History proficiency.​

Draconic Blood. In the heart of every dragonborn flows just a little of the resilience of true dragons. When you spend Hit Dice to recover HP as part of a short or long rest, you gain +1 HP for each hit die expended.​

There. Relatively small things, just a tiny bit of extra HP and training (or expertise) in a skill that might be useful...or might just be flavor, depending on the campaign.

And yes, the weight or impact of the feature matters. Variant Humans get only two distinct +1-to-a-stat, but they also get a bonus feat, something extremely valuable in 5e, and a bonus skill, something generally pretty nice to have (since most characters never gain more than 4 skills total). Despite having fewer (3 vs 4) and partially weaker features than Dragonborn (+1/+1 instead of +2/+1), Variant Human is one of the strongest races in the game, because feats are THAT good.

 

[payn]

Surprise, surprise, but I liked 3E/PF1 amount of features for ancestries, kin, species, etc. I didnt like how many shortcuts were added to get those features on ancestries that didnt start with them, but that can be made about every feature in the editions.

Basically, a few neat hereditary items mixed with cultural items to differentiate them.

 

[overgeeked]

For your tastes, how many mechanical features does a race in D&D need to feel "right", worthwhile, not-oversimplified, or whatever? One? Three? Five? More? None?

As many as it takes. Different races are different. So there’s no set number of traits all races must have. If one race has more to cover everything that makes it different, then fine. If another race has fewer (or none) because it’s the default or baseline, then fine.

Does it matter what the features are? Do they need to include ASIs? Do they need to include movement? Save modifiers? AC modifiers? Proficiencies? Advantage or Disadvantage? Languages? Feat-like abilities? Innate spellcasting?

No, it doesn’t matter. Only what makes sense for the race. Humans will have different things listed than thei-kreen.

Do the races need to be balanced with each other, insofar as the rule system allows?

Because gamers are gamers, yes. If people would play to the world and character instead of only playing to the mechanic the races wouldn’t need to be balanced. A random roll for race would also solve the problem.

Do the races need to be balanced with themselves, i.e. do drawbacks like "this race has a slower-than-average movement speed" need to be balanced by an extra bonus or feature?

No choice should be all benefits and no drawbacks. That’s just boring.

As a not-D&D-but-very-D&Dish example, races in 13th Age have ASIs just like D&D 5E, plus one racial feature. That's it! Well, there's also racial feats that are available when the character reaches each tier of play. But that's all there is. In fact, races are so simple in 13th Age that to some I added damage resistances, save bonuses, AC bonuses, etc.

Race could be as simple as a tag that gives you dis/advantage on any appropriate checks. I’d prefer it be simpler and less open to cheese.

 

[Faolyn]

2-4 traits, with at least some of those traits being ribbon-y things.

 

[Vaalingrade]

4 traits including the boring boiler plate stuff and 1-2 powers other races can't do.

 

[DND_Reborn]

A handful or so mechanical features that are universally beneficial regardless of class selection.

 

[GMMichael]

Zero. Race is fluff, not crunch.

But this guy would appreciate a mechanic or two: