[Subraces] Too much of a good thing?

[Azure Trance]

Specifically I wonder if you have too many subraces, would PCs bother playing anything other then their subracial niche? If one was available (IE: Wild Elf from FRCS) which gives a +STR, why would anyone play a Gold Elf (+INT) warrior? Vice-versa for why anyone else would want to be a non-Gold Elf Wizard. I don't see many problems, if any, if there were a few subraces per PC race since maybe a plus to STR isn't what this player is looking for in his fighter, but I think that if too many were available it would make no sense to play this subrace when that other is so much more suited to it.

Elves probably suffer the most from this (I clicked on a topic the other day; someone stated in a post he had 15 (!) subraces for his Elves), probably followed by Dwarves/Halflings. Oddly enough, I haven't seen Human subraces that often - the last time I did was in 2nd Ed Birthright.

 

[Terraism]

Well, as to your last point - when someone includes human subraces (with actual modifiers) cries of "racism" often begin to spring up... more on topic, however, I agree with you completely - if elves are generally viewed as being rare, why are there moon, gold, wild, dark, gray (ad infinitum) varieties, hm?

 

[La Bete]

im pretty much of the belief that as a GM you should pick and choose the subraces that are most appropriate for your game and flick the rest. Otherwise, yes, it can get a little silly. The wild/gold is a good example.

YMM(apd)V

 

[Azure Trance]

Well, as to your last point - when someone includes human subraces (with actual modifiers) cries of "racism" often begin to spring up... more on topic, however, I agree with you completely - if elves are generally viewed as being rare, why are there moon, gold, wild, dark, gray (ad infinitum) varieties, hm?

Really? I don't remember racism, but I might've not been there for those posts. I would have classified the racial attributes by stereotypical environments (wilderness is CON or STR, civilization is WIS or INT, etc). Regardless, I sometimes have the tendency to include oodles of subraces. Dwarves for this, Elves for that ... it's this weird feeling to make each one distinct from each other.

 

[ReiDuck]

Hm ...

Me, I always say have as many subraces as you want. For a long while, the only rogue I'd ever play would be a tiefling. Eventually, I got tired of tieflings.

For example, when playing a wizard, I wouldn't pick the race best suited for Int-based spellcasting. I discovered that some races like halflings have advantages no matter what you play - the Dex bonus was useful in general, and the small size mean that as a spellcasting, a larger character could carry the halfling around. After that, I started branching out, trying all different kinds of races and classes indiscriminantly, although I discovered that I liked rogues, wizards, and fighters the best.

As for human subraces, at one point our group played a rather interesting campaign where we drew up our real-life selves and transplanted them into the D&D world. I attempted to come up with some modifiers for various ethnicities, all of which were generalities. For example, I gave Africans +2 Dex, Europeans +2 Con, Jews +2 Int, and that kind of thing.

Yes, those numbers aren't necessarily true in many cases. Still, the muscles in black people are usually structured differently from Caucasians, making them faster, and lending to the steroetype that white men can't jump. After half a milennium of importing diseases and developing partial immunities to them, Europeans do tend to be tougher than people elsewhere. For thousands of years, Jewish women have married the most intelligent men, and during the last milennium or so of religious discrimination, intelligence was the only thing that the Christians couldn't take away from the Jews, thus selecting for it.

*Please* don't flame me for any of this - I'm merely pointing out some general truths, and each of them has vast exceptions. Also, the same will hold true for the D&D races - not all wild elves will choose to be warriors.

That kind of thing.

 

[Azure Trance]

Re: Hm ...

Me, I always say have as many subraces as you want. For a long while, the only rogue I'd ever play would be a tiefling.

Eventually, I got tired of tieflings.

Tiefling isn't a subrace, it's a Plane Touched race ;D (Well, I'm pretty sure)

 

[Tonguez]

Subraces are pointless imho and really show a lack of imagination - "okay" says player Bub "I want an elf that likes boats - hey Mariner Elf Subrace with + Dex and + Con."

"Nope" I say to misguided Player Bub "- he is an elf, just an elf, his parents were traders who often travelled from the forest to the port city and here their child developed a fascination with ships and at age 14 (Human Equivalent) he stowed away aboard a merchantman bound for the Dim West..."

Same with things like 'Sea Elves' IMC they aren't Elves at all (though possibly the misinformed call them such) They are an entirely seperate race as closely related to 'Elves as they are to Gibbering Mouthers (okay maybe thats a bit extreme)

 

[Mark]

While I don't use them for PCs, I do use NPC human and non-human "Culture Classes". Not for ability score adjustments, but for skill set choices and such. Basically just adjusted NPC classes that allow for quick templates to design cultural niches. I add to that some flavor text to give an overview of general attittudes and preferences, and it works very well.

 

[Voadam]

Let's see, for humans there is the Forgotten Realms with their regional feats, I think OA Rokugan and Wheel of Time do the same. Dragonlords of Melnibone has suggested feats for different regions and backgrounds but nothing mechanical to back it up.

I forget if the different humans of Nyambe have any different mechanical stats.

Everquest RPG has different human subraces, barbarians and erudites, with extreme racial mechanics.

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

While it is up to the individual GM, I think some settings (FRCS) have too many sub-races. It seems like a large family can't go on vacation for a week without developing into a new subrace ... and don't get me started on the Underdark (it seems like the best thing you can do for your species is to get banished underground).

A race should add a certain "feel" to a character in the same way that class does.