D&D General No More "Humans in Funny Hats": Racial Mechanics Should Determine Racial Cultures

[Faolyn]

I dont care if you optimize, take that up with the other guy.

And here you ignore everything else I wrote. Please go back and answer those questions.

 

[Faolyn]

See, but your initial premise is fundamentally flawed. This is not true.

How is it more the same to have people put their ASI where they want, but less the same to have people make the same race/class combos based on where the racial ASI is?

As I think on it now, I also get less joy out of it, because I dont want to build the puzzle, I want to solve it, so I pay others to build the puzzle. If that makes sense.

What puzzle? There's only a puzzle if you think you "win" by having the best race/class combo. But D&D isn't a game you play to win.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

If you want limitations, that's fine. What's not fine is saying (1) that everyone has to have limitations because you like them, and

I mean having published rules by definition places limitations to those why follow them. Why do you want everyone to follow a limitation of halflings not having breath weapons?

(2) that the only reason I don't want them is because I'm some sort of powergamer who only cares about high stats.

Powergamer is indeed a bit too strong, but the general complaint of not being able to start with 16 certainly is mainly about character power.

 

[Scribe]

Plus, why are you ignoring the other five stats, the racial traits, the character's personality and background, and the way the player's plays them?

I'm not ignoring other stats. I'm not talking about background or RP. We are discussing ASI.

So why is that bad?

Because I want more layers. More = good.

What tension?

"Do I take this race for the ASI, or this race for the special rules."

As opposed to the way that it currently is, where everyone will be putting their highest roll in their main stat anyway. With fixed ASIs, everybody is going to have either a 15 or a 17. That's not actually interesting or balancing.

Not everyone. Flawed premise.

And again, why are orc fighters, tiefling warlocks, and halfling rogues not "same, same, same, same

Not sure what you mean. The standard array and ASI would be different for all of those.

Because now you have to look at the traits and culture and think about something other than just the ASIs?

It's always been more than ASI.

False premise.

 

[Scribe]

What puzzle? There's only a puzzle if you think you "win" by having the best race/class combo. But D&D isn't a game you play to win.

Why are you telling people how to play?

 

[Faolyn]

I mean having published rules by definition places limitations to those why follow them. Why do you want everyone to follow a limitation of halflings not having breath weapons?

I've already answered this several times.

But if you want to play a halfling with a breath weapon, write up a race statblock and let's see it.

Powergamer is indeed a bit too strong, but the general complaint of not being able to start with 16 certainly is mainly about character power.

And again, that is not the general complaint. Is it really so hard to imagine that people would want to raise other stats? Like not have an 8 in something?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I've already answered this several times.

You have written words, but you haven't actually answered it in coherent manner.

But if you want to play a halfling with a breath weapon, write up a race statblock and let's see it.

Why can't you handle variable ASI versions of races in the same way then? Why you need floating ASIs?

And again, that is not the general complaint. Is it really so hard to imagine that people would want to raise other stats? Like not have an 8 in something?

It absolutely is. It may not be your complaint, but that's the prevailing and most common complaint about fixed ASIs.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I mean the 'powergamer' argument is certainly a stance people are pretending is prevalent, yes.

 

[Geoff Thirlwell]

For a system that supposedly embraces diversity, 5e actually instead promotes uniformity by eliminating differences between gender, race, size and weight. While that might be equality, it’s not diversity

 

[Faolyn]

"Do I take this race for the ASI, or this race for the special rules."

So instead you get "do I take this race for the special rules, or this race because I think they're cool."

Same number of layers, same number of questions. Just different questions.

Not everyone. Flawed premise.

So then you admit it's a flawed premise to assume that people who want a floating ASI will always put it in their class' main stat, yes?

Not sure what you mean. The standard array and ASI would be different for all of those.

You're saying it's bad (or unfun, or illogical, whatever) to have orcs, gnomes, elves, tieflings as warlocks all with Cha 17, because that's all the same. Even though every other aspect of their sheets will likely be very, very different.

But it's somehow not all the same when people play +2 Strength races as warriors, or +2 Dex races as rogues or monks, or when +2 Cha races as bards or warlocks.