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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bawylie" data-source="post: 8018936" data-attributes="member: 6776133">It may have been a mistake to select a default setting when designing the core rulebooks. Although it’s easy to understand why they did it, the mistake is in needlessly conflating lore and mechanics. D&D is a game system. Not actually a game. Imagine a monster manual that has a variety of orc stat blocks but that doesn’t say anything about their culture. Not good enough. We want some of that culture. So instead of just stat block, perhaps we have a Orcs in the Multiverse section that details some notable orcs in d&d across various media/adventures and has some bullet points like:• The orcs of the Forgotten Realms are created by their evil deity Gruumsh to do his evil work. They are violent and destructive. • The orcs of eberron are naturalists, tribal, and spiritual. They are close to the land.• The orcs of bawylie’s home campaign revere legendary orcish heroes and group up with others in tribes or clans that try to emulate one or more of those heroes. The Robert’s Clans are lawful good and seek to free their holy land from occupation. The Tom clan favors heavy armor and are fanatical dragon slayers. The tribe of Merl are chaotic (good or evil) seafaring marauders, fixed on gold. They favor axes. •Orcs in your game may follow any of the descriptions listed here, or may have some other cultures and organizations altogether. Generally, they tend to be mighty and disorganized and their stat blocks reflect this, but it is not universally true. Etc.Idk exactly how we might do it. I think it might’ve been beneficial to properly appreciate the difference between game mechanics and setting lore and to reserve space for variety. We could’ve had plenty of space for ‘classic’ Orcs (with some care to avoid racist language) and orcs from other well-known settings. Probably a lot of traditional d&d monsters should get that kind of treatment. Not the gelatinous cube - who cares? But certainly some creatures could benefit from a multiversal perspective. Anyway, that’s how I think you address heritage and inclusivity. First separate the game mechanic from the setting, so there is no true default or absolutist statements regarding a game mechanic in the lore. Then second, offer suggestions or describe how those mechanics might be used in a variety of settings, none of which are mandatory. Doesn’t have to be overly wordy, either. Just a snippet to inspire. They do it with classes, they can do it with other game mechanics too.</blockquote>

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