D&D General How To Reconcile the Settings

[Oofta]

Let's say you have every monstrous race in the book, along with every possible PC race. Where do they all get their food from? There's only so much arable land, they can't all live "in the mountains". Even if you assume magical food sources for underground (I do to a certain degree), there's a limit to population density of relatively large species.

Some of it may depend on how genetics works as well in your campaign. Can a race continue to exist if there are only a few dozen members of the species? Inbreeding will kill off a species after a few generations. I'm assuming we're all familiar with the whole "last of my species" trope, but how long does that last? One generation and they're gone.

I just find it hard to find room for a sustainable population of all the following humanoid races:

Aarakocra, Aasimar, Air genasi, Aquatic elf, Avariel, Bugbear, Bullywug, Deep gnome, Deep scion, Derro, Dragonborn, Drow, Duergar, Dwarf, Earth genasi, Elf, Firbolg, Fire genasi, Firenewt, Flind, Forest gnome, Genasi, Ghostwise halfling, Giff, Gith (race), Githyanki, Githzerai, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Gold dwarf, Grimlock, Grung, Halfling, High elf, Hobgoblin, Human, Jackalwere, Kenku, Koalinth, Kobold, Kuo-toa, Lava child, Lightfoot halfling, Lizard king, Lizardfolk, Locathah, Meazel, Merfolk, Mongrelfolk, Moon elf, Nilbog, Orc, Orog, Quaggoth, Rock gnome, Sahuagin, Sea spawn, Shadar-kai, Shield dwarf, Skulk, Star elf, Strongheart halfling, Sun elf, Tabaxi, Thri-kreen, Tiefling, Tortle, Triton, Troglodyte, Urd, Verdan, Water genasi, Xvart, Yuan-ti pureblood, Zerth​

Which is not the only reason I limit races, as I posted above.

 

[jasper]

It's not silly at, look at how many species of animals the world has, there is no reason you couldn't 1000 sentient race. Heck humanity has well over a thousand cultures and subcultures. Not every self aware species has to have millions of individual. If say a race of humaniod ducks only live on 1 island the size Newfoundland, that would leave a massive area for other races, heck you could have chain of such islands each with a different humaniod race evolving....

It is not you could have a race of super smart ducks(SSD). IT is the fact that there a SSD in the party. A SSD in the tavern in 02-01. 02-02. A SSD owes the corner candy shop in Waterdeep. And has open a SSD ran candy shop in all the towns of the sword coast, moon sea and the new season 10 book. In fact a super smart duck is set to play Goofy in the new move the Good, the Bad, and the Baby Yoda.
It likes seeing the cool staff light saber be used by Darth Mall and then seeing every freaking adventure carrying one.
After x number (x varies with individual) another race just becomes a human in rubber mask.

 

[gyor]

Let's say you have every monstrous race in the book, along with every possible PC race. Where do they all get their food from? There's only so much arable land, they can't all live "in the mountains". Even if you assume magical food sources for underground (I do to a certain degree), there's a limit to population density of relatively large species.

Some of it may depend on how genetics works as well in your campaign. Can a race continue to exist if there are only a few dozen members of the species? Inbreeding will kill off a species after a few generations. I'm assuming we're all familiar with the whole "last of my species" trope, but how long does that last? One generation and they're gone.

I just find it hard to find room for a sustainable population of all the following humanoid races:

Aarakocra, Aasimar, Air genasi, Aquatic elf, Avariel, Bugbear, Bullywug, Deep gnome, Deep scion, Derro, Dragonborn, Drow, Duergar, Dwarf, Earth genasi, Elf, Firbolg, Fire genasi, Firenewt, Flind, Forest gnome, Genasi, Ghostwise halfling, Giff, Gith (race), Githyanki, Githzerai, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Gold dwarf, Grimlock, Grung, Halfling, High elf, Hobgoblin, Human, Jackalwere, Kenku, Koalinth, Kobold, Kuo-toa, Lava child, Lightfoot halfling, Lizard king, Lizardfolk, Locathah, Meazel, Merfolk, Mongrelfolk, Moon elf, Nilbog, Orc, Orog, Quaggoth, Rock gnome, Sahuagin, Sea spawn, Shadar-kai, Shield dwarf, Skulk, Star elf, Strongheart halfling, Sun elf, Tabaxi, Thri-kreen, Tiefling, Tortle, Triton, Troglodyte, Urd, Verdan, Water genasi, Xvart, Yuan-ti pureblood, Zerth​

Which is not the only reason I limit races, as I posted above.

You keep assuming every race has to have massive populations, spread like a virus and function like humans. Not every race has humanities fertility, not every race has the drive or interest in endless expansion, and many races have various population controls, both enviromental and internal. You just treating them as humans with different hates. And some worlds like FR are Super Earths (FR has to be a Super Earth given the size of its land masses).

 

[Tony Vargas]

It's the group's game, if everyone is really making an effort and participating, not just the DMs game. I say that as some who is DMs 90% of the time. I get that you mean the DM can alter existing settings, but I think a lot of the responses here from various people are a bit mindless and "I'm the DM so literally only my opinion and what I like matters." Which is silly.

True things sometimes seem silly, yeah. The campaign, and the game itself, are subject to the DM's whims, they're His. Whether he can trick players into entering his perilous domain and being at his hypothetical mercy for a few hours or not is also entirely on him.

The DM is the final arbiter and has to be basically comfortable with what they're running but in my experience you work with the players to determine what you all want to see, you don't just drop a tablet on them like you think you're god.

"You think you get to see the tablet? Ha! If you break the Commandments you'll be punished, but just showing them too you would be too easy! They're all behind the DM Screen, though, I'm not making them up as I go along.
Bwahahahahah!!!!
...er… that laugh was in character, as the villain...yeah..."

A good example of how weird this can get is @Zardnaar

That could almost be a tautology.
(j/k)

Players who want to be a bunch of weird races after the DM has explained the context aren't "missing the point"

I'm sorry, they really kinda are. "So, anyone up for a Viking-themed game?" "Sure! Can I play a Hengyokai Samurai?"

 

[Oofta]

You keep assuming every race has to have massive populations, spread like a virus and function like humans. Not every race has humanities fertility, not every race has the drive or interest in endless expansion, and many races have various population controls, both enviromental and internal. You just treating them as humans with different hates. And some worlds like FR are Super Earths (FR has to be a Super Earth given the size of its land masses).

I am assuming biology works in a fashion similar to earth. I'm also assuming that even if there is more landmass, that it's not exponentially larger than earth. I assume almost all races need to eat.

Don't want to make those assumptions? More power to you. Just explaining how I run my campaign and why. If I set up a planescape or spelljammer type campaign set in some sort of nexus of different worlds? Or a riff on Niven's Ringworld (land mass hundreds of times the size of earth)? Any race could walk through the door. But I don't so I've made limitations that make sense to my world.

I've never really cared much for the kitchen sink approach that FR takes, it never made a lot of sense to me. It's just a personal preference.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

You keep assuming every race has to have massive populations, spread like a virus and function like humans. Not every race has humanities fertility, not every race has the drive or interest in endless expansion, and many races have various population controls, both enviromental and internal. You just treating them as humans with different hates. And some worlds like FR are Super Earths (FR has to be a Super Earth given the size of its land masses).

Look at the post directly above where i got this quote of yours from.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I'm sorry, they really kinda are. "So, anyone up for a Viking-themed game?" "Sure! Can I play a Hengyokai Samurai?"

Not even slightly.

The case here is "So, anyone up for a game set on Oerth?", which in no way means "U must play elfs or dwarfs or teh like". "So, anyone up for like maximum vanilla game race and class-wise?" would be comparable to your Viking bit.

Also there's a difference between "missing the point", and wanting to play an outsider.

 

[Tony Vargas]

The case here is "So, anyone up for a game set on Oerth?", which in no way means "U must play elfs or dwarfs or teh like".

That's just an issue of communication. The DM needs to communicate what he's going to run, to the extent he doesn't want to surprise players with a twist later, anyway.

Also there's a difference between "missing the point", and wanting to play an outsider.

I'd say that's missing the point. Seriously, though, I may just have gotten a little tired of the outsider concept some decades ago - it's a too-facile, unexamined, way of making a PC 'interesting' - break an expectation or even get an exception to a rule so you'll be 'unique,' and therefore a cool/interesting/special character, without having to put any actual thought into it, or engage in any character development.

 

[Oofta]

That's just an issue of communication. The DM needs to communicate what he's going to run, to the extent he doesn't want to surprise players with a twist later, anyway.

I'd say that's missing the point. Seriously, though, I may just have gotten a little tired of the outsider concept some decades ago - it's a too-facile, unexamined, way of making a PC 'interesting' - break an expectation or even get an exception to a rule so you'll be 'unique,' and therefore a cool/interesting/special character, without having to put any actual thought into it, or engage in any character development.

It's also easy to play an outsider without putting a rubber mask on playing an unusual race.

 

[Zardnaar]

Nope. You are wrong. It's pretty much classic Greyhawk.

Artificers have been in Greyhawk for a LONG time. Lum the Mad, Murylynd, Kwalish. Nebulun, gnomish god of inventions has been around since 1992. So on and so forth. Let's not forget fallen spaceships like the Warden II. Not sure why you would think that artificers don't fit in Greyhawk.

What makes GH different from Forgotten Realms is that GH is largely undetailed. All the nooks and crannies haven't been filled in by decades of lore in GH. It's largely a DM's setting and the expectation is that NO ONE plays a "classic" Greyhawk. Greyhawk is the setting that you make your own long before you feel that you have to kowtow to any notion of "canon".

Low opinion of 2E GH material ymmv.