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

[Azzy]

Fixed ASI is one knob.
The knob has been removed.
Now there are fewer knobs. For good or bad. But fewer.

We can make more knobs. This time, ones that are actually interesting and flavorful.

 

[Faolyn]

The way 5e is going, I think I’ll actually be embarrassed to teach a newbie. It would probably go something like this…
Newbie “ Wow, look at this one, a Minotaur, I want to play something big and strong like that”.
Me “Erm, well you can be strong but you’ll be just as strong as this one”
Newbie “What, that kid with the hairy feet, how does that work, I’m massive”
Me “Well, erm actually you aren’t, despite what it appears like in the these pictures and these plastic figures, you are actually the same height as a human, as is this small kid with the hairy feet.”
Newbie “Er, alright. I’ve seen Lord of the Rings. I want to be like Legolas, live hundreds of years. I’ll have pointy ears, I won’t be like this big, well not big, Minotaur thing, all clumsy, I’ll be really good with a bow”
Me “Well, the Minotaur is just as good with a bow, you can have pointy ears but you won’t live longer than anyone else”
Newbie “Ok, screw that, I’ll be a Dwarf and I’ll go kill lots of Orcs and Goblins”
Me “Well, although he’s called a Dwarf, they aren’t actually shorter than the average human. You shouldn’t really want to kill Orcs and Goblins either as they might be quite nice people actually when you get to know them.
Newbie “I’m not playing this stupid game”.

This is ridiculously stupid.

Newbie: Wow, look at this one, a Minotaur, I want to play something big and strong like that.
Me: Well, I was thinking about playing a halfling fighter as well.
Newbie: Aww, I really wanted to play something really strong.
Me: That's OK. I really want to be a fighter, but I can be a Dex-based fighter.
Newbie: Neat. How tall are Minotaurs anyway?
Me: The books say about 8 feet tall.
Bob: Heh, and I thought my 6'4" human was tall.
Newbie: Well, let's go kill some goblins.
Me: Hang on, are there goblins around here? I'm going to talk to the locals.
DM: Yeah, it turns out there's been some goblin bandits who have been raiding the local farms. They killed a farmer last week, too. There's a bounty on them because of that. Dead or alive, but it's the same amount either way.
Newbie: Wait, you mean we don't just kill goblins because they have a different skin color from us and our ugly according to my aesthetics?
Me: What? No, of course not. But these guys are bandits and murderers, so they're fair game.

So, you know, mature discussions and killing creatures based on their actions and not their race.

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is ridiculously stupid.

Newbie: Wow, look at this one, a Minotaur, I want to play something big and strong like that.
Me: Well, I was thinking about playing a halfling fighter as well.
Newbie: Aww, I really wanted to play something really strong.
Me: That's OK. I really want to be a fighter, but I can be a Dex-based fighter.
Newbie: Neat. How tall are Minotaurs anyway?
Me: The books say about 8 feet tall.
Bob: Heh, and I thought my 6'4" human was tall.
Newbie: Well, let's go kill some goblins.
Me: Hang on, are there goblins around here? I'm going to talk to the locals.
DM: Yeah, it turns out there's been some goblin bandits who have been raiding the local farms. They killed a farmer last week, too. There's a bounty on them because of that. Dead or alive, but it's the same amount either way.
Newbie: Wait, you mean we don't just kill goblins because they have a different skin color from us and our ugly according to my aesthetics?
Me: What? No, of course not. But these guys are bandits and murderers, so they're fair game.

So, you know, mature discussions and killing creatures based on their actions and not their race.

Both of these dialogues seem equally silly.

 

[Faolyn]

Both of these dialogues seem equally silly.

Yes, they are.

 

[Scars Unseen]

It means we all get what we want.

It doesn't. Minotaurs aren't strong if an unaugmented halfling has the exact same potential. Now, you could go further and argue about gradients of strength, but D&D isn't quite granular enough to mess with that within the scope of playable races.

There are other ways to approach the issue. With multiple ASIs as a factor, you could have race dependent ability score ceilings instead bonuses. Some people wouldn't like that either, but it would let people build the starting character as they wished while making an ability score matter more at higher levels for races with an affinity for it if the player wishes.

Either way, races with no differences in ability scores fall afoul of Syndrome's Law

 

[Arilyn]

It literally doesnt mean this.

I can have my dextrous elf this time but next time make a wise elf. You can stick to the traditional stats for races. We both get what we want. As a GM, it shouldn't matter if a player has made a smarter halfling than a dextrous one. I have never cared what stats players assign to traits. Would it really bother you that much? With my luck at rolling, other players might assume my 16 str. halfling had an 8 anyway.

 

[Scribe]

I can have my dextrous elf this time but next time make a wise elf. You can stick to the traditional stats for races. We both get what we want. As a GM, it shouldn't matter if a player has made a smarter halfling than a dextrous one. I have never cared what stats players assign to traits. Would it really bother you that much? With my luck at rolling, other players might assume my 16 str. halfling had an 8 anyway.

We dont, because I want it defined by the book.

Ideal, would be Tasha's as an option, and defined ASI as an option.

Just as we have Rolled, Point Buy, and Array options.

So no, I wont be getting things how I want it, but I'm glad you can enjoy things how you like.

 

[Minigiant]

Either way, races with no differences in ability scores fall afoul of Syndrome's Law

Only if Strength score is literally the only measure of strength.

Which is isn't anymore. Strength has muliple aspects with multiple was to modify and differentiate it.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Only if Strength score is literally the only measure of strength.

Which is isn't anymore. Strength has muliple aspects with multiple was to modify and differentiate it.

It's still the best one. And as I mentioned before, you don't have to just pick one way of making races different from each other. In fact, you shouldn't.

 

[Minigiant]

It's still the best one. And as I mentioned before, you don't have to just pick one way of making races different from each other. In fact, you shouldn't.

It's actually the worst one.

Strength is

1. Melee attack rolls
2. Melee damage rolls
3. Lift and carry capacity
4. Strength checks
5. Strength saving throw

What if Minotaur are good at lifting but move slower so their added muscle is cancelled out when attacking.

Whereas a Dogman's bigger muscle is faster for better attacks but doesn't allow for better powerlifting.