D&D General The Importance of Page 33

[Fanaelialae]

Say the exchange is exactly that: A is okay with Tabaxi, B is not. And B is DM. How would you resolve that dilemma?

I wasn't the one quoted, but I would discuss the matter like adults, and try to find a mutually agreeable solution.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Nope, the argument stays stronger than ever. True gods can do both. But if they don't want something, nothing a mortal can do can change their mind. It is not a matter of "if they want", but a matter of "not wanting". Continuity stays on.

On the contrary - the argument is incredibly weak because true gods can do both. If you have an actual pantheon rather than a monotheistic setup your gods are going to have disagreements. You think Loki wouldn't invite other people in almost because the other Gods didn't want it?

And the argument that the Gods can do something therefore the world is that way is nothing more than DM fiat. If you're going to use that, at least be honest about it.

 

[Oofta]

I wasn't the one quoted, but I would discuss the matter like adults, and try to find a mutually agreeable solution.

Allowing tabaxi or not is a pretty binary choice though.

 

[Orius]

Tieflings in Mystara are something of a weird case.

They originated in Planescape, and in the 2e days, were more or less planar. Now Planescape and Mystara coexisted as supported 2e settings for 2 years, and Planescape counted Mystara as part of its cosmology. So a tiefling could theoretically cross from Planescape into Mystara. Mystara though had its own weird cosmology, but it was really only talked about in the old D&D rules. The D&D cosmology was similar with a Prime (Material) Plane, 4 elemental planes, an Astral and Ethereal. Outer Planes were much different, there was no Great Wheel, and they tended to be individual realms of the gods, connected to the Spheres, or alternate realities or something, I don't really remember. In any case, a traditional Mystara DM might use the old cosmology rather than the Great Wheel, and that might make tieflings a difficult fit at best. Not only that, but the DM might not like Planescape at all and not want to use it in his game. That was one of the big downsides to all of 2e's settings.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Allowing tabaxi or not is a pretty binary choice though.

Possibly, but not necessarily.

For example, perhaps in the discussion it turns out that the player wants to be a tabaxi because they want their character to be highly athletic. So, after discussing it, you agree that they can play the stats but they look human (maybe sans claws).

You won't know unless you try.

 

[Coroc]

So, I started a new campaign. I had a session zero where I explained the idea of an intrigue based campaign, with numerous factions and politicking. None of the players raised any issues with it, but when they arrived at the first session with their characters:

• 1 was a noble distant heir to the throne involved in a plot against the current pretender (Cool!)
• 1 was a doctor who patched up the poor and the wealthy (I can work with that!)
• 1 was a lower-class member of a minority group with the flaw “when people treat me badly I fly into a rage” (Um, not really a great fit for an intrigue-based campaign, but I’m willing to work with this)
• 1 was a wilderness warrior who had never been to the city (C’mon!)
• the last was a steampunk elvish traveller from Sigil who had never been to that plane...

On the one hand, I retooled the campaign to be a more traditional dungeon delve. On the other, I told the steampunk elf to make a more appropriate character or drop the campaign (he dropped the campaign).

To summarize, I don’t think this issue is black or white. DMs should be flexible and avoid being too wedded to their ideas pre-player input. Players should engage with the world as described and not just play characters independent of the world.

ROFL

Btw dear Burgomeister, this is Tarzan, I found it in the woods, please do not get upset by his table manners, in a few weeks I will have trained him not to eat food that fell to the floor.

Ah yes did I introduce to you Clueless my pointy eared friend ?

 

[Coroc]

Did I mention the hybrid form where I'm a 5 foot anthropomorphic raven? And the fact that there's an entire group of them in CoS? Never minding the freaking ANGEL hanging out in one of the nearby buildings. (sorry, don't want to spoiler too much) And the fact that the Mists kidnap all sorts of beings from the multiverse all the time, meaning that the folks in Barovia likely have seen all sorts of weird crap walking around.

This is, of course, ignoring the curse on Barovia where the population isn't exactly bog standard human anymore either.

But a walking lizard? Oh, man, that's too far.

Same goes for Mystara - Nostalgia feel? Sure, but, that's going to vary pretty wildly depending on when you played Mystara. One person's totally unbelievable addition is another person's first experience with the setting. I mean, take Diaboli. That's from the Poor Wizard's Almanac, 1992. That's a LONG way into the development of the setting. Yet, extra-dimensional travelers coming to settle in Mystara are perfectly fine, but, Tiefling's aren't? Methinks the Lady doth Protest too much.

Did not know about hybrid form with wereravens, but I guess you would not chose that as your standard shape, when entering the superstitious farming community in the hinterlands? If the change occurs unwillingly in that situation, then kudos, that is what Ravenloft is about.
But what will lizardman do to hide his face and tail? Wear a robe and a veil?

 

[Rdm]

I wasn't the one quoted, but I would discuss the matter like adults, and try to find a mutually agreeable solution.

But see, if the position is existing vs not existing there really isn’t a mutual solution.

Possibly, but not necessarily.

For example, perhaps in the discussion it turns out that the player wants to be a tabaxi because they want their character to be highly athletic. So, after discussing it, you agree that they can play the stats but they look human (maybe sans claws).

You won't know unless you try.

then they defacto aren’t playing a Tabaxi but playing a human with different stats.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Evidence? For instance, I think the EarthSea setting would be weakened if the author had been made to throw in the kitchen-sink of fantasy and sci-fi races (for the sake of the example, all of them).

First I'm going to say that if you take the EarthSea setting and try to use the D&D magic system you've utterly savaged it. You've done more harm there than just about anything else could. D&D's magic system is basically consequence free and a big part of the point of EarthSea magic is that it isn't.

Second, given that EarthSea is about consequences for magic the really weird races are easy. Dragonborn, Shardminds, Tabaxi, and the rest are in extremely tiny numbers the result of magic and of getting it wrong with magic. And "That island right at the far end of the archaepelego has halflings. They mostly stay there, farming and living in holes in the ground." doesn't do much to disrupt the setting. Neither for that matter does "the elves live on an island 500 miles from any other island and people can't find it so it's just a legend."

D&D magic is core to a D&D game. Just about every character is going to interact with it and most (especially in 5e) are going to use it. Adding a small village of weird people a long way away for a PC to come from is something that seldom does.

 

[Oofta]

Possibly, but not necessarily.

For example, perhaps in the discussion it turns out that the player wants to be a tabaxi because they want their character to be highly athletic. So, after discussing it, you agree that they can play the stats but they look human (maybe sans claws).

You won't know unless you try.

Assuming that the DM is dead set against tabaxi (I would be, they just don't fit) then yes, I would talk to the person about what they want and why they want to play that race. The stats and personality traits could fit several other races.

But I've hit this with someone who wanted to play a drow. First of all, I'm a bit on the fence whether they even really exist in my campaign for a whole host of reasons. Second, if they do they represent the stealthy death and disappearance of entire families and villages in the dark of the night. My campaign world is dangerous, monsters are real. A drow would be shot on sight.

A player can always ask, but sometimes the answer is going to be "no".