Racial flex stats are up!

[Saracenus]

That's actually not true at all. All software that isn't open-source comes with an EULA that you theoretically are agreeing to abide by, and the majority of which specifically forbid you from modifying the product in any way. It's not something that's enforced in most cases, but it would ABSOLUTELY hold up in court if they ever bothered to call you on it.

So, yeah. Your statement is the complete opposite of true.

Actually, you are both right. It's not inherently illegal to modify a software program you own. But you could be in violation of a contract (the EULA) if you do modify the program.

As I am not a lawyer, I can't speak to the legalness of the EULA on a state by state or country by country basis.

Carry on...

At the Bart Simpson school black board...

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I will read the entire thread before replying. I will read the entire thread befo

 

[Aegeri]

So if you were wondering why the monsterous races didn't get flex stats, we now have an explanation:

The races that weren’t mentioned in the article are not oversights, they’re intentional omissions. Not every race needs or deserves these options.

The point of ability options is to let a race excel in a broad selection of classes. One of the basic assumptions of D&D and pretty much all swords-and-sorcery fiction is that monster races are powerful and numerous but culturally and psychologically narrow, while the physically weaker and outnumbered humans, elves, dwarves, etc., run the world because they’re adaptable, cooperative, and proficient at many things. Monsters should not have the same range of choices that the core PC races have, whether they're played as cardboard monsters, NPCs, or PCs. That has nothing to do with whether or not they’ve been written about in Dragon or any other published source material.

Steve

I am not going to pretend like I get this answer. Apparently "minotaurs" are culturally and psychologically flexible, while all the other races like kobolds and goblins are (apparently) culturally idiots. Somehow there is something about the explanation that fails to make any real sense to me here. Minotaurs in Krynn are apparently a bit different to the typical evil brutal maze based monster of typical fantasy, so maybe I can buy that explanation. At the same time if we're going to take that sort of explanation, it's worth noting goblonoids in Eberron (as an example) are distinctly not idiots and have a deep culture. So this just doesn't make sense to me. Fluff based explanations for mechanics just never actually do - because fluff is inherently mutable and doesn't apply to all settings. It's not a decent explanation whatsoever.

Personally I would have much preferred a simpler approach based on the actual mechanics (and what will/won't be supported) such as: "They weren't intended for use as PCs and were intended for NPCs. Those monstrous races that weren't published in a PHB/Dragon, do not get a flex stat because they were not balanced or intended for PC use. If we ever decided to publish them as a full properly balanced PC race, they would get a flex stat like everything else". This also means that the gnoll really should have got a flex stat as well (and probably deserved to given their full write up anyway).

It's just really bizarre the logic that goes through wizards these days.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Yeah, I'm not getting that one at all. Just looking at it purely as a 'system management' decision it makes no sense. All it did was piss some people off, and giving them flex stats wouldn't even have been noticed by anyone. The whole 'justification' just smells like rationalizing a bad decision after the fact. God only knows what they were thinking, but it was not one of WotC's more brilliant moves.

 

[Jhaelen]

it's worth noting goblonoids in Eberron (as an example) are distinctly not idiots and have a deep culture. So this just doesn't make sense to me.

This!

Steve Winter's answer makes zero sense except as a lame cop-out because they simply forgot about the other races.

 

[twilsemail]

Steve Winter's answer makes zero sense except as a lame cop-out because they simply forgot about the other races.

I don't think they forgot about goblins or githyanki or orcs or any other MM races. They've said those races won't be supported.

I can kind of see them forgetting the gnoll and bladeling.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Actually I really don´t want to see a gnoll as a PC... a bladeling however should get the PC treatment.

 

[keterys]

Now I want to play a habitually drunk and sick bladeling - maybe a drunken master. We can call him Queasy Nart.

(No, I actually don't)

 

[Kaodi]

What I do not understand is how Str is not the fixed stat for Half-Orcs. It has been the stat they have always gotten a bonus to, in like every edition.

 

[corwyn77]

Precisely.

Though, it is the kind of thing that makes me think about using a Death To Ability Scores type hack next time I plan a game.

As it is, I'm pretty flexible with racial bumps; I give humans 25-point buy, and if you ask nice and have a good flavour reason for it, I'll let you use nonstandard bumps for your race.

"You want to play a Genasi Chaos Sorcerer, but the stats don't line up nicely? Sure, take Cha + Dex. It makes sense."

Yeah, I introduced a new background a while back, cribbed from Savage Worlds Shaintar, called Atypical, which allows a non-human to replace one racial stat-boost with any of the other two (three) non-boosted stats.

 

[Obryn]

What I do not understand is how Str is not the fixed stat for Half-Orcs. It has been the stat they have always gotten a bonus to, in like every edition.

Probably because 4e half-orcs are not the same as 1e half-orcs. I think half-orcs are more associated with rogues & assassins than ever before.

-O