in practice i'd want more traits like dwarven stonecunning, gnomish tinkering or orc's relentless enduarance ... stuff that's actually more representative of species' cultures and things that have been passed down the generations, like originally bladesinger was purely an elf-exclusive class
Here I somewhat agree: Dwarf Stonecutting subculture. Gnome tinkering subculture. Orc Endurance subculture. Elf Bladesinger subculture.
At the same time, every Orc has Adrenaline Rush. But how an Orc avoids stress or burns off stress can evolve a diversity cultural traditions. There is no cultural predestination.
I like Elves and consider them in my play and worldbuilding. I will use them as an example. The same principles applies to other species too.
Among Elves, the Bladesinger is a prominent aspect of the High culture. High communities are highly diverse from each other, yet many have traditional institutions involving the Bladesinger.
Each species comes with its own array of indigenous cultures. Each culture includes diverse and conflictive communities. Each community includes members who are diverse and conflictive. There is no trait that "every" member of a culture shares in common. A sweeping generalization that every member of a High culture must conform to is racist to some degree, and unnecessary anyway when the 2024 background is such a powerful and versatile mechanic − while enjoying verisimilitude.
In earlier editions, the Elf species is notorious for having way too many different "subraces", because of its inflexible Elf "race" design. Every single minutest mechanical variant, even blatantly cultural trends like learning how to use a weapon, was forced to become a completely different species or subspecies. The multiplicity was absurd and derived from a reallife essentialist racist worldview.
The 2024 background ends the problem. There is only one Elf species, and it is versatile. Like reallife humans, other species can develop or join any number of cultures. A background can represent any Elf cultural concept.
Be high Strength (Grugach, Wood), high Dexterity (Drow, High), high Constitution (Wild, Athas), high Intelligence (Grey, Gold, Eladrin, Star, High), high Wisdom (Wood, Drow, MTG), or high Charisma (Eladrin, Moon, Drow). The same Elf species can grow up in different cultural backgrounds.
Not every member of a Grugach community has high Strength, but typically a majority of a Grugach community esteem, celebrate and encourage, those Elves who exhibit high Strength and Athletics. Compare reallife sports and fitness culture. Many Grugach communities employ Druids as the traditional community leaders, with Primal magic neighboring natural elements, animals, and plants.
"Prominent" is an intentionally ambiguous term. A background can be "prominent" because it is rare, exclusive, and prized. Or it can be prominent because it is common, typical, and an ordinary everyday characteristic. Either way, a majority of the population values and privileges the background.
There only ever needs to be one single simple Elf species.
(Even the way 2024 splits up the innate spells for Drow, High, and Wood, respectively, is unnecessarily inflexible. Let the player pick whatever spell of the appropriate level. Make the listed cultural spells be "typical", not mandatory.)
The 2024 background design space does the heavy lifting to diversify a species. Use the background to acquire whatever traits are "prominent" in a specific culture. There can be official default backgrounds which are distinctive to a particular culture.
The elven High culture is unlike other elven cultures. High prioritizes Arcane magic like the Fey Eladrin culture does, from which the High culture originates. But High also integrates and adapts Martial traditions from inhabiting alongside the various Human cultures within the Material world. Arcane backgrounds and Martial backgrounds, as well as Gish backgrounds that blend the two enjoy prestige and privilege within High culture.
The High culture is militaristic, much moreso than other Elf cultures. This is also because of living alongside Humans. Typically every citizen of a High community (often a town of advanced and magical treehouses across the upper branches of towering ancient trees) trains in the community militia, the local army. Besides a few neighboring High communities in the region and perhaps other allies, High communities only join their armies together for massive threats. From 5e and earlier editions, a typical High militia includes at least four military forces.
Infantry (Light): Singer (Bladesinger)
Infantry (Heavy): Knight (Eldritch Knight)
Artillery: Archer (Arcane Archer)
Cavalry: Rider (Griffon Mount)
These forces include the level zero versions of the later classes as well as the later levels, plus the Griffon riders who might typically be Rangers. Possibly Trickster Rogues are a High special ops unit. Here the forces form at least three default backgrounds that are prominent in many High communities. The Singers, namely the High elven army of Wizards, are especially feared by other cultures. The languages for all are Elven, Common, and Sylvan.
Singer and Knight: Tool (Longsword), Skills (Arcana, Athletics), Feat (
Magic Missile + Elven Chain
Mage Armor, or choice of slots 1 and 2)
Archer: Tool (Longbow), Skills (Arcana, Perception), Feat (Alert)
Rider: Tool (Mount), Skills (Animal Handling, Survival), Feat (Griffon Companion)
Remember a player can legally tweak a default background for ones own character concept, and to coordinate with Class benefits.
Some High military units assist Human allies, or Eladrin allies on the other side of the nearby Fey Crossing.
In addition to the military backgrounds, the traditional High culture includes many other backgrounds that a player can choose or create. Most High communities form their own Fey Court, with its magocratic political families, pages, squires, Feywild emissaries, Material diplomats, etcetera. There are homebuilders who magically the grow the treehouses by shaping living wood, Fey Crossing specialists and mappers, the alchemical researchers doing high-mago-tech such as the special Elven Chain
Mage Armor, Elf Cloaks and Elf Boots, the librarians of the great magical libraries, the historians of the past and the seers of the future, the great High wizard schools, the facilitators of the Mythal community magic rituals, the wildfarmers who simulate natural ecology to appear as if a fertile wilderness but with abundant crop harvests, Bard colleges with sacred communities and artistic communities, the House of Corellon genderfluid sacred community, and many other aspects of High culture.
These are all backgrounds.
A player can modify or create a background. But I especially love the 2024 background as a DM for worldbuilding. It can be, a DM might want a particular Drow Elf community in a regional setting to mainly have a +1 Dexterity and a choice of +2 Wisdom, Charisma, or Intelligence depending on a Cleric, Warlock, or Wizard academy. A finesse Fighter academy takes the +2 Dexterity. There can be many exceptions, and any Drow players dont need to conform to these Score Improvements, but the "prominent" "trends" can help flavor and vivify the region.
The background design space is extremely useful for culturebuilding and worldbuilding.
