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

[MoonSong]

Because the design philosophy about half-races changed and they were not able to be justified in any way except "nostalgia" or "tradition" or "someone on the internet will complain but it won't change whenever they buy the book or not".

Too bad, that's one of the main reasons I'm staying behind with pure 5e.

 

[Remathilis]

By creating a set of specifics you can share to strengthen your claim of the set that you can claim as property.

As well as limiting compatibility of the products you host but don't own without offering access to entirety of the big book of secret formula.

So here's a specific: the SRD does not have a 1/3rd caster. Neither the EK or AT is there. Which has a knock on effect to the multi class rules for casters.

Maybe the SRD isn't what you think it is...

 

[Minigiant]

So here's a specific: the SRD does not have a 1/3rd caster. Neither the EK or AT is there. Which has a knock on effect to the multi class rules for casters.

Maybe the SRD isn't what you think it is...

The 1/3 caster rules aren't need as they are directly related to the both the spellcasting rules and multiclassing rules.

 

[Minigiant]

Because the design philosophy about half-races changed and they were not able to be justified in any way except "nostalgia" or "tradition" or "someone on the internet will complain but it won't change whenever they buy the book or not".

There are justifications for half elf and half orc outside of tradition.

Both species represent something unique lorewise and mechanically in the modern representation of them and the other species.

Half elves are pillars of mental versatility.
Half orcs are being of physical forced focused.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Half elves are pillars of mental versatility.

So... humans?

Half orcs are being of physical forced focused.

So... orcs, goliaths and dragonborn?

The problem with these two is that they were obligatory. Tolkien had half elves and the modus operandi is to steal everything that won't get you sued when it comes to him and D&D. People wanted to play orcs from the beginning but the designers wanted to reserve orcs for being cartoon monsters that exist to be killed, so they provided the half orc as literally a half measure. Neither is there because the game wanted them there; only to shut up some player desires it doesn't really want to fulfil.

So there's never really been a good reason to exist for either because the game never wanted them there in the first place. The community made them something more in some cases, but the reality of the game as it stands is, they were never really treated as a thing that matters aside from the settings that were made from an outsider perspective or with an eye toward actually trying to satisfy player desires like Eberron or Nethir Vale.

That the Old Ways finally lost and orcs are core were the nail in the coffin for half orcs. Half elves wight well be collateral in the movement to clean up D&D's sketchier side and getting rid of the species who only lore thing was how sad you should be for being multiracial.

 

[Minigiant]

humans

Not current humans.

Current humans are versatile as a total species but each human is specialized by hunature.

Half elves are mechanically and lorewise versatile as an individual

A human aims to be a good diplomat or athlete. But a half elf aims to be an athletic diplomat.

So... orcs, goliaths and dragonborn?

Nope

Half orcs had features displaying their racial ability to exact force and withstand pressure.

I mean the lore and mechanics are literally in the books. There is no reason to good back to 20 year old stuff.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Too bad, that's one of the main reasons I'm staying behind with pure 5e.

"Main" implies it's not the only reason. If you were going to stay behind for any reason, they clearly never had the need to appeal to you. That's how capitalism works.

There are justifications for half elf and half orc outside of tradition.

Both species represent something unique lorewise and mechanically in the modern representation of them and the other species.

Half elves are pillars of mental versatility.
Half orcs are being of physical forced focused.

Vaalingarde beat me to saying what I wanted, and more eloquently than I planned to, but:

Half-Orcs were that only because developers were afraid playable Orcs may undermine them wanting all Orcs to be irreedeemably evil and too dumb to ever work with "civilized" people to not make the players feel bad when they kill them. The moment it became clear this is a limiting and bad worldbuilding, that stole half of its text from some racist crap said about several gorups of real people by bunch of British pricks in XIX century, there was no longer reason for Half-Orcs. The niche of "physical force focused" in itself lies in the idea Orcs are too stupid to be able to focus, which does not match their new lore and weirdly suggest Half-Orcs are only intelligent and able to work in a team due to their human genetics, which is gross. Also, we alrerady have Goliaths who are doing this stick better.

 

[Minigiant]

Vaalingarde beat me to saying what I wanted, and more eloquently than I planned to, but:

Half-Orcs were that only because developers were afraid playable Orcs may undermine them wanting all Orcs to be irreedeemably evil and too dumb to ever work with "civilized" people to not make the players feel bad when they kill them. The moment it became clear this is a limiting and bad worldbuilding, that stole half of its text from some racist crap said about several gorups of real people by bunch of British pricks in XIX century, there was no longer reason for Half-Orcs. The niche of "physical force focused" in itself lies in the idea Orcs are too stupid to be able to focus, which does not match the lore and weirdly suggest Half-Orcs are only intelligent and able to work in a team due to their human genetics, which is gross. Also, we alrerady have Goliaths who are doing this stick better

And I'll repeat it

Both 4e and 5e gave half orc and half elf non offensive mechanics and lore separate from an orc or elf respectively.

"Half Orcs only exist to play a Orc. Orcs are playable so we don't need Half Orc" doesn't work if Half Orc have evolved past playable Orcs.

 

[Remathilis]

Vaalingarde beat me to saying what I wanted, and more eloquently than I planned to, but:

Half-Orcs were that only because developers were afraid playable Orcs may undermine them wanting all Orcs to be irreedeemably evil and too dumb to ever work with "civilized" people to not make the players feel bad when they kill them. The moment it became clear this is a limiting and bad worldbuilding, that stole half of its text from some racist crap said about several gorups of real people by bunch of British pricks in XIX century, there was no longer reason for Half-Orcs. The niche of "physical force focused" in itself lies in the idea Orcs are too stupid to be able to focus, which does not match their new lore and weirdly suggest Half-Orcs are only intelligent and able to work in a team due to their human genetics, which is gross. Also, we alrerady have Goliaths who are doing this stick better.

This. 100%. Coupled with the fact that when orcs were given player stats, they were made terrible purposefully to 1.) discourage playing them and 2.) justify half-orcs as the more sensible option.

 

[mellored]

I'd rather see half orcas added.

And maybe a half orcus.