D&D (2024) Should 2014 Half Elves and Half Orcs be added to the 2025 SRD?

[pemerton]

Depends on the game and your preference. What you're describing works well for you. It doesn't work well for others.

This remark seems a non-sequitur. I didn't post anything about what does or doesn't work well for me nor for anyone else. I just answered a question about what the alternative was to both mere colour and stat bonuses.

It is still mechanical modelling

Er, that IS mechanical modeling. Advantage is a mechanic and he's using it to model racial abilities. It's just not formalized is all.

It's not a model of anything. It's a modification to a die roll to reflect the fictional situation.

logically the exact same thing would apply even if we were just talking about human cultures, so none of this communicates "different species."

I guess the point would be that fantasy "species", or peoples, ultimately occupy the same role as different human cultures. They involve affinities, and ways of seeing the world, and ways of being seen by others.

And those things seems to be core to the Half-Elf in any event.

 

[Maxperson]

This remark seems a non-sequitur. I didn't post anything about what does or doesn't work well for me nor for anyone else. I just answered a question about what the alternative was to both mere colour and stat bonuses.

It's not a model of anything. It's a modification to a die roll to reflect the fictional situation.

It is. It models/expresses a racial ability that comes into play in certain situations. Unless you're suggesting he'd give the mechanical advantage to elves talking to other elves in elvish sometimes, but not other times. It's just not a formalized model the way that the PHB races use.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I guess the point would be that fantasy "species", or peoples, ultimately occupy the same role as different human cultures. They involve affinities, and ways of seeing the world, and ways of being seen by others.

Right, which is what I said, and you disagreed with. If we remove the actual mental, physical and metaphysical differences between the species they become just human cultures except cosmetically.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yes it does. If you are incorrectly portraying what I said, it's a problem. What you attributed to me wasn't what I said.

There is a real difference between official rules and editions and unofficial 3pp. You really can't see that difference?

I certainly don't see a difference in anything other than whether or not WotC gets your money.

 

[Maxperson]

I certainly don't see a difference in anything other than whether or not WotC gets your money.

While I do not do so myself, a lot of people label official rules as safe/acceptable and 3pp rules as suspect/unacceptable. I've been at several tables where official products were okay without even asking the DM, but 3pp were banned no matter what.

 

[TwoSix]

Er, that IS mechanical modeling. Advantage is a mechanic and he's using it to model racial abilities. It's just not formalized is all.

One place you can see this concept in action is BG3. There are a ton of dialogue options where being a certain race or class either gives advantage or just grant auto-success.

Being a drow in the goblin camp is an easy example.

 

[CreamCloud0]

I guess the point would be that fantasy "species", or peoples, ultimately occupy the same role as different human cultures. They involve affinities, and ways of seeing the world, and ways of being seen by others.

maybe, but different species should also occupy the role of being actually different species, i wouldn't want all my species bonuses to end up being because of their culture, at one point people were complaining that species seemed genetically coded to know their own species language or a dwarf was born knowing how to use hammers and axes, and AnotherGuy's suggestions are exactly these kinds of weird genetically innate culture traits, or presume species to all be these conglomerate monocultures of likeminded peoples.

 

[Micah Sweet]

While I do not do so myself, a lot of people label official rules as safe/acceptable and 3pp rules as suspect/unacceptable. I've been at several tables where official products were okay without even asking the DM, but 3pp were banned no matter what.

I know people do this, but I disagree very strongly and basically want nothing to do with that stance.

 

[Remathilis]

While I do not do so myself, a lot of people label official rules as safe/acceptable and 3pp rules as suspect/unacceptable. I've been at several tables where official products were okay without even asking the DM, but 3pp were banned no matter what.

Which is a different problem than saying I am no longer playing Official Dungeons & Dragons because I used Tome of Beasts monsters. The 2024 PHB literally give guidance on using older books in it. You can't argue that using 2014 stuff is illegitimate because the 2024 books give explicit permission to do so.

 

[Maxperson]

Which is a different problem than saying I am no longer playing Official Dungeons & Dragons because I used Tome of Beasts monsters.

Something else I didn't say. If you mix them, you are playing a hybrid game and/or not a 5.5e RAW game, since those are not 5.5e RAW.

That's all I said, not that you somehow weren't playing anything official with regard to D&D.

The 2024 PHB literally give guidance on using older books in it. You can't argue that using 2014 stuff is illegitimate because the 2024 books give explicit permission to do so.

The books can't give that permission. Only the DM can give permission to use the older books. The 5.5e guidance regarding 5e is for if/when the DM allows it to come into play.