D&D (2024) If there are no half-elves or half-orcs will there be Tieflings (half fiends)?

[UngeheuerLich]

a race(lineage) should give you 6 or 7 traits to pick from.
Premade race could help new players with the choice.

a class should give you 10 starting proficiencies that you can put into armor categories, martial weapons, cantrips, skills and saves.

why all fighters need to have heavy armor proficieny?
what if you are raised in a jungle or island archipelago where those armors are unheard of and completely impractical?

Urgh... no... if I want a point buy system, I play a point buy system...

 

[Horwath]

Each has its problems. My biggest concern though is that if any manner of mix-and-match is potentially better than picking a single species, then most players will opt for mixed species. Being a character with two lineages should be a choice made for role-playing, not for eeking out the best mechanical benefit. (For what its worth, I feel the same about multiclassing, but at least most that has the knock-on effect of slowing your progress to higher level abilities).

with 5E racial "powers" being so weak(mostly) I do not see any problems in picking traits for your "custom race".

As long as they are balanced within themselves.

nothing will break if one character wants 2 skills more other 2 cantrips more and another one 10ft speed bonus.

only problem I see is in balancing once per day or prof bonus per day special abilities.

But if custom races are kept to choices of skills, expertise, cantrips, one 1st level spell, move speed, climb and swim speed, darkvision and bonus tools/weapons/languages, nothing will break.

 

[Remathilis]

with 5E racial "powers" being so weak(mostly) I do not see any problems in picking traits for your "custom race".

As long as they are balanced within themselves.

nothing will break if one character wants 2 skills more other 2 cantrips more and another one 10ft speed bonus.

only problem I see is in balancing once per day or prof bonus per day special abilities.

But if custom races are kept to choices of skills, expertise, cantrips, one 1st level spell, move speed, climb and swim speed, darkvision and bonus tools/weapons/languages, nothing will break.

Ok. Here are the traits I pick for my custom race:

• 120 ft darkvision (drow elf)
• Flight (pixie)
• Child of the Sea (sea elf)
• Shapechanger (changeling)
• Relentless Endurance (half-orc)
• Reach the Blaze (fire genasi)

That's six traits, same as a a dwarf, so that's balanced and won't be a problem in your game, right?

 

[Corinnguard]

Picking traits for your "custom race" means you won't be picking any potential drawbacks that come along with a given race.

 

[Horwath]

Ok. Here are the traits I pick for my custom race:

• 120 ft darkvision (drow elf)
• Flight (pixie)
• Child of the Sea (sea elf)
• Shapechanger (changeling)
• Relentless Endurance (half-orc)
• Reach the Blaze (fire genasi)

That's six traits, same as a a dwarf, so that's balanced and won't be a problem in your game, right?

please read what traits I have stated that will not be a problem if you combine them.

 

[Remathilis]

please read what traits I have stated that will not be a problem if you combine them.

Your list is basically the custom lineage from Tasha with a few additional options.

Please be aware I'm not against a custom lineage race, but I don't think that is what people will want when they make a firbolg/drow crossbreed. It might be no better than "pick one and reflavor" because you at least get the major features of one of your two parents.

 

[Horwath]

Your list is basically the custom lineage from Tasha with a few additional options.

Please be aware I'm not against a custom lineage race, but I don't think that is what people will want when they make a firbolg/drow crossbreed. It might be no better than "pick one and reflavor" because you at least get the major features of one of your two parents.

we can try to give point value to racial features:

Pick your racial traits;
you have 6/7 trait points:

skill proficiency, max 2 times
combination of 4 tools, languages and/or weapons, max 2 times
expertise in one racial tool or skill
darkvision 60ft
darkvision 120ft, worth 2 points
hardy: +2 HP, +1 HP for every level after 1st, worth 2 pts
damage type resistance(except bludgeoning, slashing or piercing), max 2 times
healthy: advantage and resistance vs poison and disease
durable: advantage on one saving throw
+5 move speed, max 2 times
climb speed equal to move speed
swim speed equal to move speed and hold breath 1hr
burrow speed, half your speed
fly speed(wings), worth 4 points
cantrip, max 2 times
one level 1 spell known, cast for free once per long rest
one level 2 spell known, cast for free once per long rest
one level 3 spell known, cast for free once per long rest, worth 2 points
extra feat: worth 5 points
natural armor 13+dex or +1 AC when wearing armor you are proficient
natural weapon 1d6+str or 1d4+dex, one attack as bonus action
large frame: count as one size larger for carry capacity, grappling and similar
Improved ability: +1 ASI, new score cannot be higher than 17. worth 2 points

negative traits:
slow: -5ft speed, gain one trait point
small size: gain one trait point
sunlight sensitivity: gain one trait point
-1 to one ability; gain one trait point, max 2 times, cannot be taken on ability 8 or lower.


now pricing shifters ability or aasimars might be dificult but I would say that by this formula it's worth 2 points

If we put value on every racial feature, then all can be in a budget of 6 or 7 pts.
then when you do a mixed heritage, you just pick from the pool of abilities of both races and watch that you do not go over budget.

 

[Remathilis]

we can try to give point value to racial features:

Pick your racial traits;
you have 6/7 trait points:

skill proficiency, max 2 times
combination of 4 tools, languages and/or weapons, max 2 times
expertise in one racial tool or skill
darkvision 60ft
darkvision 120ft, worth 2 points
hardy: +2 HP, +1 HP for every level after 1st, worth 2 pts
damage type resistance(except bludgeoning, slashing or piercing), max 2 times
healthy: advantage and resistance vs poison and disease
durable: advantage on one saving throw
+5 move speed, max 2 times
climb speed equal to move speed
swim speed equal to move speed and hold breath 1hr
burrow speed, half your speed
fly speed(wings), worth 4 points
cantrip, max 2 times
one level 1 spell known, cast for free once per long rest
one level 2 spell known, cast for free once per long rest
one level 3 spell known, cast for free once per long rest, worth 2 points
extra feat: worth 5 points
natural armor 13+dex or +1 AC when wearing armor you are proficient
natural weapon 1d6+str or 1d4+dex, one attack as bonus action
large frame: count as one size larger for carry capacity, grappling and similar
Improved ability: +1 ASI, new score cannot be higher than 17. worth 2 points

negative traits:
slow: -5ft speed, gain one trait point
small size: gain one trait point
sunlight sensitivity: gain one trait point
-1 to one ability; gain one trait point, max 2 times, cannot be taken on ability 8 or lower.


now pricing shifters ability or aasimars might be dificult but I would say that by this formula it's worth 2 points

If we put value on every racial feature, then all can be in a budget of 6 or 7 pts.
then when you do a mixed heritage, you just pick from the pool of abilities of both races and watch that you do not go over budget.

This sounds even more complicated and still runs the problem of people ignoring weaker abilities (or things that can be replicable with class or feats) for powerful major abilities. I'd rather have two synergistic powerful abilities (like flight and invisibility) over 5-6 less useful ones (like cantrips or speak with animals).

The only way that works is if you force all species into a 4e-style structure: one signature major ability, one minor defensive ability, two free skills, and a sensory or movement ability. Then you rebuild every species to use that structure and never deviate. Then eventually allow PC to swap one species trait for one of another species. But the current system isn't balanced to allow that and you would have to start from the ground up to redo it.

 

[Marandahir]

No. You MIGHT be able to make a decent argument for half-orc and half-elf and the planetouched races, but shifter isn't a half-lycanthrope, goliath isn't a half-giant, and warforged isn't a half-anything. You might as well make dwarf, elf and halfling 1st level feats!

Goliath absolutely includes Half-Giants.

The two have been equated ever since 2010's Dark Sun Campaign Setting.

Of course, 5e also makes clear that Goliaths can be descendants of other peoples with giant-blood in their ancestries, or their own people that have descent in part from giants but have become their own thing. Like with Tieflings, the origin depends. That's a GOOD thing -- it means the species is flexible to your needs. Ultimately, it's the PC Giant species, to use the way you want.

 

[Yaarel]

The "Flaw" section of the Bio in the Character Sheet is the place to describe whatever weakness a character has.

If a player wants to roleplay a some kind of drawback, it can be strictly narrative without mechanical enforcement.

With regard to character having a mechanical weakness, it is a problem that solves itself. The benefit of mechanical "min-maxing" guarantees that many characters will have significant "mins". These achelleus-heal weaknesses can be fun to play out in game, sometimes even empathy-building.

With regard to fantasy "racism" where certain "races" are inherently inferior, such as having a lower IQ or similar, I am relieved and grateful that the D&D brandname no longer goes there.

Also, I find more interesting the update to species, where what distinguishes one nonhuman species from an other nonhuman species is a feature that is completely nonhuman.