One D&D Permanently Removes The Term 'Race'

In line with many other tabletop roleplaying games, such as Pathfinder or Level Up, One D&D is removing the term 'race'. Where Pathfinder uses 'Ancestry' and Level Up uses 'Heritage', One D&D will be using 'Species'.

Moving On From 'Race' in One D&D

We understand "race" is a problematic term that has had prejudiced links between real world people and the fantasy peoples of D&D worlds.

www.dndbeyond.com

In a blog post, WotC announced that "We have made the decision to move on from using the term "race" everywhere in One D&D, and we do not intend to return to that term."

 

[Lanefan]

For sure. My biology is like..grade 10 level but I was thinking on this.

Human - Elf -> Half Elf - Sure, easy.
Half Elf - Half Elf -> Human, Elf, or Half Elf?

Half-Elf.

Half-Elf - Human -> Quarter-Elf.
Half-Elf -> Elf -> 3/4-Elf.

This is why we went to calling them "Part Elves" and "Part Orcs" ages ago, with gradated mechanics for each 1/8 step.

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As for the bigger point: 'species' is fine with me, and IMO considerably better than most of the other suggested terms e.g. Ancestry, Heritage, etc. A Part-Elf is simply a mix of two species in the fiction, that has its own mechanics in the rules as if it was a separate species of its own.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Fractional Elf

 

[Matchstick]

As long-time fan of alliteration, I, for one, look forward to the advent of the specious speciesist arguments!

So you're "an alliteration advocate anticipating the advent of the alternate ancestry arguments"

 

[Faolyn]

Ick.
Too Sci-Fi
I prefer Heritage

(It's up BTW)

If it makes you feel better, the word originates in the 14th century.

 

[MNblockhead]

It's good to see "race" gone, but the linguist in me wishes they'd chosen a replacement word with an adjective form. For example, the traits your PC gets from their ancestry would be their ancestral traits, and so on. There's not a corresponding word for species, unfortunately.

Biologists use "specific". Using "generic" (related to genus) and "specific" (related to species) traits is, however, a bit awkard in that that is not how people will read these terms in common usage. Then again, talking about "traits specific to elves" or "dwarf-specific traits" reads well enough to me.

 

[Marandahir]

Hmm, "parentage." I like it from a Gygaxian perspective, but I'm not sure that's a word that the broad audience necessarily knows.

What if your parents aren't the same species as you?

What if you are a species without parents, like an Autognome or a Shardmind or a Plasmoid?

 

[Davies]

Race -> racial
Ancestry -> ancestral
Species -> special?

Yes, that is the adjective form -- though I'm now informed that biologists use a different one -- and possibly a good argument against using that noun in this instance, as is the existence of characters who are non-biological in origin, like warforged.

 

[Scribe]

What if you are a species without parents, like an Autognome?

A robot isnt a species, beyond 'Construct' anyway?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What if your parents aren't the same species as you?

What if you are a species without parents, like an Autognome?

Good points.

I vote we go with "Thingy."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A robot isnt a species, beyond 'Construct' anyway?

What is the blank on the character sheet called for an autognome character, then?

 

[Marandahir]

A robot isnt a species, beyond 'Construct' anyway?

I think the Droid Gotra would like to have a word with you.

 

[MNblockhead]

I dislike the term species as this could imply the biological species concept as members of a population that can potentially interbreed. Where does this leave half-orcs, half elves etc? Its too loaded a term to be of use for the game as is race. My preference is ancestry

I don't have an issue with it. Even if you read the term in a strict biological sense, fertile hybrids are possible in the real world.

If chimpanzees and bonobos can interbreed, I don't see an issue with orcs and humans.

 

[Yaarel]

Technically the adjective for "species" is "special".

I find myself needing to mispronounce the adjective as: "speecial".

Or even: "SPEE-shee-al".



A neologism may be in order. The term species derives from a Latin noun. So:

"Specid" : Species :: Rabid : Rabies

Then again:

Special : Species :: Serial : Series

 

[Charlaquin]

I like that they’re discontinuing the use of the term race, but species is a poor alternative. Can duergar no longer have children with dwarves? Svirfneblin with gnomes? What about all the varieties of elf, are we really saying they’re all different species now? No, this doesn’t work. Call them ancestries, or heritages, or lineages, or peoples. Species is just fraught in a different way than race.

 

[Charlaquin]

This was proposed wasn't it? Half Elf/Orc, going away.

Only as distinct races species with mechanical features. You can still play a character that was half-orc and half-human, or half-and-half of any two… umm… species you want (which makes the term woefully inaccurate). You just have to pick one parent to get the mechanical features from, and mix-and-match visual traits from each as you like.

 

[Scribe]

Only as distinct races species with mechanical features. You can still play a character that was half-orc and half-human, or half-and-half of any two… umm… species you want (which makes the term woefully inaccurate). You just have to pick one parent to get the mechanical features from, and mix-and-match visual traits from each as you like.

Yeah, which...I mean I get, but yeah.

 

[Teemu]

They should just use ancestry. Yeah, Pathfinder has it. So what? Ancestry fits fantasy a little better than species. We can give them feedback, the term isn’t set in stone yet.

 

[Bolares]

This elfgame, the term doesn’t need to be scientificaly acurate. I like species because it tells imediately to the player what choice they are making in character creation.

 

[Marandahir]

I like that they’re discontinuing the use of the term race, but species is a poor alternative. Can duergar no longer have children with dwarves? Svirfneblin with gnomes? What about all the varieties of elf, are we really saying they’re all different species now? No, this doesn’t work. Call them ancestries, or heritages, or lineages, or peoples. Species is just fraught in a different way than race.

You may have missed my post earlier in the thread (though I agree with you that that ancestry is FAR better):

Species ≠ Mutually Exclusive Reproduction.

Especially in Fantasy settings, but also in real life.

There are NUMEROUS examples of hybridized cross-species, and not just ones that are sterile, but plenty that "breed true".
Let alone the idea that an individual "MUST" be able to have children to be considered their own thing. >_>

I hate the cutting out of Half-elf and Half-orc, but I'd be sort of okay with it if they just plop the Custom Lineage option from Tasha's into the 2024 PHB and suggest that your Half-elf character may be statted as an Elf, a Human, or mix and match using Custom Lineage.

 

[Marandahir]

They should just use ancestry. Yeah, Pathfinder has it. So what? Ancestry fits fantasy a little better than species. We can give them feedback, the term isn’t set in stone yet.

Does Paizo have a trademark on the usage of the term in this context? If not, then WotC should use it too. They might be wanting to avoid a lawsuit, of course, much like everyone else uses GM instead of DM.