How to describe a race?

[Driddle]

" Race " is the correct term for differentiation between folks such as elves or dwarves, who actually are very different. The idea of race has only been used incorrectly in referring to humans of different lands. I do not believe it makes sense to stop using a proper word to avoid confusion with a usage of the word that was never proper. It would be like stopping using the term " bear " to refer to Grizzlys, Polars, Brown and Blacks to avoid confusion with with Pandas and Koalas.

I agree mostly. And I'd rather get people to stop confusing the issue in the real world than limit its use in fantasy.
Darn that overlap between gaming and life. Darn it all to heck.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

To borrow from shadowrun we could use metahuman

Seriously though if you want to not be confusing species is right, if you want to be more flavorful and/or traidtional race is right.

If necessary incorporate a little side bar explaining what race means in the d&d/rpg context.

 

[Szatany]

I'm missing one option from this poll, which I would like to tick: KIN.

 

[Gloombunny]

If necessary incorporate a little side bar explaining what race means in the d&d/rpg context.

This is an excellent idea.

 

[Wolv0rine]

Race, go with race. It's the correct term, it's the standard term, and it's the traditional term. And while I will likely get jumped on for it, the simple truth IMO is that anyone who becomes confused by the difference between the standard usage of the word in the Real World where there is only one breed of bipedal humanoid and the D&D world where there are many races of humanoid races is just simply not smart enough to play D&D.
It's nice to want to expand the customer base, but it'd be nice if we expanded it by not pandering to people who cannot be bothered to learn how to Read For Context. I mean honestly, my 6 year olds are learning to do it in first grade, it's not so much to expect.

 

[Thundershield]

Simply elaborate a little: "Humanoid races"... Unless you can play a cow or donkey in 4E, it's pretty accurate. I mean, even Aasimar and Tieflings are, despite their outsider origins, humanoid in shape.

"Many humanoid races inhabit the world." <-- That way.

 

[Goblyns Hoard]

Species. Speeeeeciiieeees.

No. That which is currently called race in D&D is NOT species. Not if you have viable half-elves and half-orcs.

 

[delericho]

Just use 'race' and have done. Don't they have better things to be worrying about?

Honestly, if people think that "choose your character's race" refers to a real-world ethnicity, when there's a whole chapter in the book describing elves, dwarves, teiflings, warforged, ninja, oranges and starfolk, then I dread to think what they're going to make of character vs. spell levels, and heaven help them with attacks of opportunity.

 

[Driddle]

Honestly, if people think that "choose your character's race" refers to a real-world ethnicity...

I'm going to use this comment as the example to address others of the same assumption.

It's not that anyone believes fantasy race refers to the real world, but that it reminds them of a problematic real world issue and makes light of it.

Now, whether you (inclusive anyone "you") here think it's significant is beside the point -- you can't decide for someone else whether it's important to them. Real world race does matter to enough people that they don't also want to mess with the term in a game. We can't just dismiss that.

 

[delericho]

It's not that anyone believes fantasy race refers to the real world, but that it reminds them of a problematic real world issue and makes light of it.

Ahem:

But we really can't just say "race" and leave it at that, since some portion of the folks who pick up the Player's Handbook and read it for the first time will automatically think that the phrase "You can choose your character's race" means that they can decide whether their characters have Asian features, or African features, or Caucasian features, or whatever.