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

[Not a Decepticon]

That's why I prefer super soldiers.

A combined effort between Grummush and the Dead Human God to send supper warriors to combat something nondivine.

This is just eugenics, I edited the post to add that.

 

[Minigiant]

This is just eugenics, I edited the post to add that.

It's the same as the other species. Instead of 1 god creating one species. It's 2.

 

[CreamCloud0]

If they have special mechanics that mean say, they are natural diplomats, that is undesirable in the modern game, because it has the message “if you are not born this way you can never excel as a diplomat”.

So you cut the “born diplomats” from the game. Now anyone can excel as a diplomat.

my perspective on taking this approach is that it's more ending up as 'when everyone's super no-one will be', it's not that you couldn't build a great diplomat as another species before but half-elves just got a leg up on the concept.

it's the blandification of species, nobody can be Better because that would mean someone is Worse.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

It's the same as the other species. Instead of 1 god creating one species. It's 2.

Deliberatelly experimenting on or selectively breeding existing group of people to create a species of super soldiers is eugenics.

 

[Micah Sweet]

"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.


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.

Why are we keeping orcs at all, by that argument? If half-orcs have no reason to exist, and we have goliaths, what for the orcs?

 

[Micah Sweet]

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.

Just to play devil's advocate, how exactly have half-orcs evolved past playable orcs? Is it the mixed heritage angle, or is there more to it?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Deliberatelly experimenting on or selectively breeding existing group of people to create a species of super soldiers is eugenics.

Is there a narrative reason a species can't have an evil origin? Where you came from doesn't have to determine what you can be, and removing such things narrows the scope of narrative and worldbuilding.

Sometimes you just want to explore the idea of playing a jem'hadar.

 

[Minigiant]

Just to play devil's advocate, how exactly have half-orcs evolved past playable orcs? Is it the mixed heritage angle, or is there more to it?

Half Orcs never had a Bonus action Dash.

When Orcs were stripped of their evil and rage and all species stripped of their ability score adjustments, orcs became a grey adrenaline addicts. Half orcs struggle with emotion but don't do it for the rush. They stand firm and deal a extra damage. They aren't just smart orcs. Orogs are smart orcs more or less copying GW's Black Orcs.

Once Strength is out the picture, Half Orc's channeling emotion into their work shines bright as a the most visible aspect of them. There is no talk of orcs channeling their emotion or going out to prove themselves. But for 20 years , half orcs have been scarred up weirdos who can chop a foe up good if they aren't taken down.

 

[Remathilis]

Orcs had mechanics for creating an orc PC in 4e.

4e MM2 Ph141

"The origins of half orcs are mysterious. Some say that they are the product of cross-speeding between savage tribes. Others point to an ancient program to create the ultimate warrior. Still others say that their origins are divine. All of none of these explanations might be true"

There you have it
Half-orcs are Space Land Marines created by the God Emperor.

Continuing to question them is heresy.

HoFK pg 258

Half-ores are the offspring of orcs and humans—a hybrid race combining the strength, speed, and aggression that underlie ore culture with the ambition, resourcefulness, and boldness of the human heart. Half-ores usually live on the fringes of society, finding ways to succeed as virtual outcasts among their own kin. Resilient and persistent, a half-ore is unwilling to accept defeat as long as he or she still draws breath.

The half-ores who arose as the result of this commingling combined the best traits of both races. Many people see half-ores as brash and violent, ascribing such behavior to the darkness of their ore heritage. Even the most barbaric half-ores, however, can draw on the motivation and ingenuity of their human ancestry.
---
So the Warhammer origin lasted all of 2 years before they were back to outcast human/orc pairings.

 

[Minigiant]

HoFK pg 258

Half-ores are the offspring of orcs and humans—a hybrid race combining the strength, speed, and aggression that underlie ore culture with the ambition, resourcefulness, and boldness of the human heart. Half-ores usually live on the fringes of society, finding ways to succeed as virtual outcasts among their own kin. Resilient and persistent, a half-ore is unwilling to accept defeat as long as he or she still draws breath.

The half-ores who arose as the result of this commingling combined the best traits of both races. Many people see half-ores as brash and violent, ascribing such behavior to the darkness of their ore heritage. Even the most barbaric half-ores, however, can draw on the motivation and ingenuity of their human ancestry.
---
So the Warhammer origin lasted all of 2 years before they were back to outcast human/orc pairings.

You mean 4e Essentials?
Yeah to appeal to all the grognards who complained about 4e and left for the OSR or PF1.

So like I said. Old lore to appeal to fans of old editions.

But that's another topic. D&D constantly reverting to old problematic lore or morphing into bland nothingness rather than embracing anything new and flushing it out.