Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="DreadPirateMurphy" data-source="post: 2889950" data-attributes="member: 20715">Because, frankly, species are competitive.  Whoever got there first would wipe out anybody challenging that dominance.  Assuming they got there around the same time, then they would fight it out until one side won.This assumes that natural selection is the operative force in the fantasy world.  Species that are not competitive die out.  The alternative to this is supernatural selection, of course, to which other posters have alluded.  Note that I am speaking strictly in a gaming world sense -- real world debates along this line are likely to get this thread closed, so please refrain.Based on your question, I checked my definitions and found I am in error.  Common terms here are:Sentience:  the ability to feel or perceive, basic consciousness.  In D&D terms, this would be connoted, I believe, by a Wisdom score.Sapience:  the ability to act with judgement.  This is actually closer to what "wisdom" usually means in the colloquiel sense.Self-awareness:  the knowledge of one's own existence.I'll assume that you're asking an honest question and not just baiting.  Given my new understanding of the word "sentience," I can say that I do believe there are animals that are sentient.  What I have yet to see is any evidence that there are other species that are self-aware, with the possible exception of closely-related primate species.In fantasy terms, most "demihumans," as they used to be called, are most certainly self-aware.  Not only are they self-aware, but they are capable of developing and using sophisticated technologies, including magic.  That makes them implicit competitors to humans or any other such species.</blockquote>

Verification