D&D 5E Recent Errata clarifications

[Oofta]

what makes races seem cool anyway aside from being competently made? should we make a thread to discuss?

Well, if you have the choice of playing a tall, ethereally beautiful elf that is full of grace (elves used to be quite short as well for what it's worth, they used to average 5 foot tall) or a stocky, grumpy, bearded fellow who has a reputation for being a crude drunkard and comic relief, who would you pick?

I mean I like playing into the taciturn, pragmatic dwarf with a funny accent or the happy-go-lucky always optimistic halfling. So I'm not the right person to ask. All I know is that when they've done studies where they have people rate men's attractiveness then use camera angles to make the same model look taller or shorter the "taller" version ranks far higher on the attractiveness scale. When I've suggested a campaign with short races only (primarily dwarves) I always have someone who flat out refuses. Run a campaign with all elves and they're practically handing me their character sheets before I get the words out of my mouth.

So I don't think there is a fix, or at least not one that will work universally. Not even sure there needs to be one.

 

[Scribe]

what makes races seem cool anyway aside from being competently made? should we make a thread to discuss?

Sure!

In short.

1. A compelling history.
2. A compelling look.
3. A non-human mindset/behavior pattern/morality.
4. A non-human biology.
5. Mechanics which are derived from the above.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Well, if you have the choice of playing a tall, ethereally beautiful elf that is full of grace (elves used to be quite short as well for what it's worth, they used to average 5 foot tall) or a stocky, grumpy, bearded fellow who has a reputation for being a crude drunkard and comic relief, who would you pick?

It's weird how D&D elves have gotten taller over the years. When I was first introduced to D&D as a kid, I didn't like elves being short and I wanted them to be tall like Tolkien elves. However, now I actually like short elves, it makes them more distinct.

Never liked dwarves, though not because they're short. I just never really go them.

 

[5atbu]

I have played RPGs since 1980 and D&D since 1981.

I am delighted by the current changes to alignment and nuancing of ancestries and cultures.

Bring it on!

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Whilst I wouldn't mind replacing half-orcs with full orcs and have done so in my campaign, I really don't think half-orc needs to imply "an ugly backstory" any more than a half-elf, tiefling or an aasimar would.

Depending on the setting, the creation of half-elves can be just as problematic, just that elves use glamour and enchantment when they get rapey, rather than the violence that orcs use.

 

[5atbu]

Whilst I wouldn't mind replacing half-orcs with full orcs and have done so in my campaign, I really don't think half-orc needs to imply "an ugly backstory" any more than a half-elf, tiefling or an aasimar would.

Yes. I dislike the "half" tag.
It's gone for my games.
That means no half people except halflings!

 

[Oofta]

Sure!

In short.

1. A compelling history.
2. A compelling look.
3. A non-human mindset/behavior pattern/morality.
4. A non-human biology.
5. Mechanics which are derived from the above.

Sure, but what qualifies? One top 10 list supposedly using 2020 statistics, although who knows how accurate it is

1. Human
2. Half-Elf
3. Dragonborn
4. Tiefling
5. Half-Orc
6. Elf
7. Dwarf
8. Halfling
9. Genesai
10. Goliath

Humans, I get. It's easy to play what you're familiar with. Half-elf, tiefling, half-orc probably appeals to people at some level for feeling like outcasts or like they don't fit in which I think applies to most people at some point or other. Tiefling may also appeal to the emo types.

But dragonborn? Other than appearance and the fact that they tend to be taller than humans, the mechanical benefits are nothing special. I'd have to look up their history to know what their history and lore is.

In any case, I think some aspects of the lore should be changed (half-orcs typically live in slums? Yeesh!) but I'm not sure we need to fix anything.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Depending on the setting, the creation of half-elves can be just as problematic, just that elves use glamour and enchantment when they get rapey, rather than the violence that orcs use.

Why would you write a setting with explicitly rapey content? Like sure, any character could have such an origin, but it is not that interspecies procreation makes it inherently more likely. Why can't elves and humans and humans and orcs have completely consensual relationships that produce offspring?

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Why would you write a setting with explicitly rapey content? Like sure, any character could have such an origin, but it is not that interspecies procreation makes it inherently more likely. Why can't elves and humans and humans and orcs have completely consensual relationships that produce offspring?

Well, I did say "depending on the setting." I would expect a Celtic-based setting to have elves that may go all "enchanted, nonconsensual" on the humans they choose to mess with. Or if for some reason you want to make a setting with "sexy" orcs that humans would willingly sleep with, go for it. Or go the Shadowrun route and have the initial generation of half-orcs and half-elves happen because of some major magic change or disaster. Or make a world where everyone is a half-breed of some kind and normal humans no longer exist.

As for why write a setting that includes that? Why don't we ask the writers of almost all the D&D settings?

 

[Azzy]

As for why write a setting that includes that? Why don't we ask the writers of almost all the D&D settings?