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<blockquote data-quote="Mephista" data-source="post: 7250675" data-attributes="member: 6786252">There's more going on here than just that.&nbsp; Ultimately, your argument is missing out that this is a roleplaying game, first and foremost, and mechanics aren't just driven by popularity.&nbsp; In the end, they're driven by story and imagry just as much as anything else.&nbsp; And popularity isn't just the result of what people want to make as a D&amp;D character, but what filters into people's mind as the result of pop culture.&nbsp; The whole elf wizard and elven ranger ultimately do end up lying at the feet of Tolkien.&nbsp;&nbsp; The whole cycle starts off with outside works providing inspiration.&nbsp; D&amp;D and Tolkien in turn influence other works, which evolve the idea, and then those new ideas feed back into D&amp;D, especially the developers when they're thinking about what kind of story they want to tell with the game.&nbsp;Honestly, I think you're reading too much into this.&nbsp;&nbsp; The numbers are being taken as an indication of popularity, right?&nbsp;&nbsp; So, naturally, you're going to be seeing popular figures with higher numbers.&nbsp;&nbsp; But that, in no way, indicates anything else about the game other than the different archetypes (elf wizard, elf ranger, human fighter, tiefling warlock) are all highly popular choices.&nbsp; Playing against the type is, by definition, an unpopular choice.&nbsp; You are not going to have as many people doing it.&nbsp; Therefore, naturally, the numbers are going to be lower.&nbsp;&nbsp; That hasn't stopped anyone from making a dragonborn berserker (quite fun, tbh), a dwarven monk, halfling druids or gnome paladins.&nbsp; These all happen.&nbsp; Not nearly as frequently as you'll see gnomish artificers or half-elf bards, but it does happen.&nbsp; And the game is flexible enough that you can still contribute meaningfully in the majority games.&nbsp;&nbsp; Its only in high end, heavily optimized games where the issues crop.&nbsp; And these games are the minority.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mephista, post: 7250675, member: 6786252"] There's more going on here than just that. Ultimately, your argument is missing out that this is a roleplaying game, first and foremost, and mechanics aren't just driven by popularity. In the end, they're driven by story and imagry just as much as anything else. And popularity isn't just the result of what people want to make as a D&D character, but what filters into people's mind as the result of pop culture. The whole elf wizard and elven ranger ultimately do end up lying at the feet of Tolkien. The whole cycle starts off with outside works providing inspiration. D&D and Tolkien in turn influence other works, which evolve the idea, and then those new ideas feed back into D&D, especially the developers when they're thinking about what kind of story they want to tell with the game. Honestly, I think you're reading too much into this. The numbers are being taken as an indication of popularity, right? So, naturally, you're going to be seeing popular figures with higher numbers. But that, in no way, indicates anything else about the game other than the different archetypes (elf wizard, elf ranger, human fighter, tiefling warlock) are all highly popular choices. Playing against the type is, by definition, an unpopular choice. You are not going to have as many people doing it. Therefore, naturally, the numbers are going to be lower. That hasn't stopped anyone from making a dragonborn berserker (quite fun, tbh), a dwarven monk, halfling druids or gnome paladins. These all happen. Not nearly as frequently as you'll see gnomish artificers or half-elf bards, but it does happen. And the game is flexible enough that you can still contribute meaningfully in the majority games. Its only in high end, heavily optimized games where the issues crop. And these games are the minority. [/QUOTE]

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