Yes, they should've. Because it's a great story, and the mechanics had nothing to do with it. That's the point.and they could've even done the half-elf story with 3 dwarf mechanics or no mechanics at all, doesn't mean they should've.
Everything was done to discourage players from playing half orcs in 1st edition, even though they were the only “big guy” trope option. The art was seriously ugly, they were stupid and almost always evil. And assassins were “NPC only” (even though everyone ignored that rule). Gygax included them as a sop but clearly didn’t want anyone playing one.Half orcs sucked power wise in 1st edition. But they where they only class that could multiclass with(either thief or assasin) with a cleric in that edition, and that made them kool as a character to play.
No, you are. A tiefling can have human parents. Or they can have elf parents. Different story, different culture. They do not need different stat blocks to tell it.Dude your missing the point.
No, Tanis is a human with pointed ears who NPCs react differently to.Nope because there’s a part that just works. Their world like ours isn’t an ideal world. Tanis in Dragonlance doesn’t work as an elf. Tons of examples like that
You're missing the point, the 2024 PHB is making the point that the Fiendish ancestor or influence is more important than any mortal ancestry a Tiefling might have.Dude your missing the point.
for a non-insignificant amount of people having those specialized mechanics is what allows them to play a mixed ancestry character without it feeling like a barefaced lie.Yes, they should've. Because it's a great story, and the mechanics had nothing to do with it. That's the point.
There is nothing preventing you from making a character with mixed ancestry in 5e; to the contrary, several of my current players have done so, and it is an important part of their story. Having specialized mechanics for two chosen examples of mixed ancestry has nothing to do with that.
Pretending to be someone you are not is bare faced lying. Although we often euphemistically call it "role playing" or "acting".for a non-insignificant amount of people having those specialized mechanics is what allows them to play a mixed ancestry character without it feeling like a barefaced lie.
i wasn't referring to the act of roleplaying being a lie, i was referring to the truth of the nature of the character, claiming your character is something that the truth of the mechanics don't align with.Pretending to be someone you are not is bare faced lying. Although we often euphemistically call it "role playing" or "acting".
Whatever you call it, getting an extra skill proficiency does not make it any less of a lie.