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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 9251168" data-attributes="member: 58172">[USER=7034710]@CreamCloud0[/USER]Most players dont care about customizing their character. They decide on a Class, scan thru the Species and Backgrounds, pick one of each, and move on to play the game. Many have their friends recommend for them and go with whatever sounds appealing.Whatever the "official defaults" are, is what D&D is, for the vast majority of the game experience.There is no need to coerce a default. The existence of a default is coercion enough. It is the torrent of a river, and it typically doesnt matter what the individual snowflakes riding it do.Each Species has various ethnic groups, each with an array of cultures and subcultures. It helps if each Species in the Players Handbook comes with a sampling of official default Backgrounds to highlight some of the popular D&D traditions about that Species. These defaults set the tone for what the Species "feels like". Most players go with this feel.For players who care about customization, D&D 2024 has much to offer.I agree, there needs to be MANY more Feats to choose from for a Custom Species to be viable.For one of the players I needed to create a Werewolf Feat. It felt like a satisfying Werewolf. If I find it, I will post what I did.Beyond Class, the 2024 character has two big design spaces: Species and Background. In 2014, Background was little more than "pick two skills". But in 2024, the Background is huge, and the player has control over most of it. Some of the things that were in the 2014 "Race", are now in the 2024 Background and decidable by the player.The Species design space is made out of 3 (!) Background Feats. Generally, it is balanced to spend two Background Feats in exchange for one powerful 2014 Level 4 Feat. 2024 likes to delay a powerful feat, such as a cantrip at level 1, a slot 1 per day at level 3, and a slot 2 per day at level 5. But when a DM is deciding on a Custom Species, a DM can use a full level 4 Feat at level 1, if it is important to a concept without too much worry, such as the Eladrin Misty Step per Short Rest. Things like Dragonbreath and certain kinds of flight can also be Background Feats or level 4 Feats.Here is the design space in 2024:SPECIES• Creature Type• Size• Speed• Lifespan• 3 Background FeatsBACKGROUND• Score Improvement: +2 to any, +1 to any other• 3 Languages (typically Common, Species and Background)• 2 Skills• 1 Toolset• 1 Background FeatIn total there are 4 feats here. This is plenty to create a concept. Three are for the "biology" of the Species. One is for any culture that is indigenous to the Species. Things that were 2014 "Subraces", can flesh out in more detail with more options as Backgrounds.For the sake of the Custom Species, there needs to be many Feats to choose from, especially magical Feats that a Species concept might find useful. Obvious ones are Feats for flight, natural armor, dragonbreath, other special attack, etcetera. These Feats can be in the Players Handbook and elsewhere: in specific settings, other supplements, or in indy products. Plus, it is a feat − a DM with a sense of mechanics can invent one.Generally• Background Feat ≈ two cantrips ≈ slot 1 per day and slot 2 per day• 2 Background Feats ≈ Level 4 Feat ≈ Xanathar Species Feats ≈ Tashas Psionic FeatsOften an innate spell can represent an important Species trait.Yeah!</blockquote>

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