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D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Gothic Lineages & New Race/Culture Distinction

The latest Unearthed Arcana contains the Dhampir, Reborn, and Hexblood races. The Dhampir is a half-vampire; the Hexblood is a character which has made a pact with a hag; and the Reborn is somebody brought back to life. https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/gothic-lineages Perhaps the bigger news is this declaration on how race is to be handled in future D&D books as it joins...

The latest Unearthed Arcana contains the Dhampir, Reborn, and Hexblood races. The Dhampir is a half-vampire; the Hexblood is a character which has made a pact with a hag; and the Reborn is somebody brought back to life.

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Perhaps the bigger news is this declaration on how race is to be handled in future D&D books as it joins other games by stating that:

"...the race options in this article and in future D&D books lack the Ability Score Increase trait, the Language trait, the Alignment trait, and any other trait that is purely cultural. Racial traits henceforth reflect only the physical or magical realities of being a player character who’s a member of a particular lineage. Such traits include things like darkvision, a breath weapon (as in the dragonborn), or innate magical ability (as in the forest gnome). Such traits don’t include cultural characteristics, like language or training with a weapon or a tool, and the traits also don’t include an alignment suggestion, since alignment is a choice for each individual, not a characteristic shared by a lineage."
 

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But, that fails on a basic level, because today in our culture, folks of European descent are treated and considered more highly than folks of Middle Eastern descent.
I have to ask, since you brought it up. And I mean this respectfully.

By whom are they treated and considered more highly? By people in Central Africa? South America? Southeast Asia?

There are 7 billion people on this planet. Europeans (throw US and Canada in there too since I think that is what you mean) constitute less than 2/7th of them. So, when you say considered more highly, you might be viewing that through a frame just as blurry as the person you are referring to.

Cultural sensitivity comes from considering and caring about all sides, education, and the ability to understand that all things are not meant to be blasphemous, harmful or insensitive.
 

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G

Guest 6801328

Guest
I have to ask, since you brought it up. And I mean this respectfully.

By whom are they treated and considered more highly? By people in Central Africa? South America? Southeast Asia?

There are 7 billion people on this planet. Europeans (throw US and Canada in there too since I think that is what you mean) constitute less than 2/7th of them. So, when you say considered more highly, you might be viewing that through a frame just as blurry as the person you are referring to.

Cultural sensitivity comes from considering and caring about all sides, education, and the ability to understand that all things are not meant to be blasphemous, harmful or insensitive.
The people with the lion share of the globe's wealth.
 

Umbran

Mod Squad
Staff member
Supporter
There are 7 billion people on this planet. Europeans (throw US and Canada in there too since I think that is what you mean) constitute less than 2/7th of them. So, when you say considered more highly, you might be viewing that through a frame just as blurry as the person you are referring to.

It has nothing to do with "blurry". It has to do with propriety. To wit: Is it appropriate, proper, or ethical to make use of the cultural artifacts and traditions of people that your own culture has abused, taken advantage of, and/or have otherwise treated shabbily? And, what can one do to increase the appropriateness of use?

For the record, I'm on the side of, yes, you can use such artifacts, but it takes some work and sensitivity to do it properly.

I was responding to what seemed to be to be an effective abrogation of any need to consider if use was appropriate.
 

Chaosmancer

Legend
The one thing I will never get about D&D players, they are the only group I know who fight for less options, not more...

Part of that is having too many options.

I mean, not to reference the obvious, but let me just list Elves and Dragons

Elves (some are setting specific names for specific cultures)
Elf
Aquatic Elf
Dark Elf
Drow
Deep Elf
Grey Elf
High Elf
Wood Elf
Moon Elf
Snow Elf
Sun Elf
Valley Elf
Wild Elf
Grugach
Winged Elf
Avariel
Aereni Elf
Valenar Elf
Faerie (another specific version of Grey)
Cooshee?
Shadow Elf
Athasian Elf
Lythari
Silver Elf
Star Elf
Mithral Elf
Gold Elf
Green Elf
Copper Elf
Sylvan Elf
Vil Adanrath
Xendrik Dark Elves
Ghost Elf
Painted Elf
Eladrin

True Dragons (and yes, they are all real)
Red
Blue
Green
Black
White
Gold
Copper
Silver
Bronze
Brass
Brown
Grey
Orange
Purple
Yellow
Adamantine
Cobalt
Mercury
Mithral
Orium
Steel
Amethyst
Crystal
Emerald
Sapphire
Topaz
Obsidian
Avalanche
Blizzard
Earthquake
Tornado
Typhoon
Volcanic Dragon
Wildfire
Lung
Iron
Nickel
Tungsten
Cobalt
Chromium
Adamantite (different than Admanatine, obviously eyeroll)
Shadow
Arboreal
Astral
Axial
Battle
Beast
Chaos
Chole
Concordant
Ectoplasmic
Elysian
Ethereal
Gloom
Howling
Kodragon
Oceanus
Pyroclastic
Radiant
Rust
Styx
Tarterian
Hellfire
Deep
Fang
Rattelyr
Song
Incarnum
Sand
Force
Prismatic
Time
Hex
Tome
Cerilian


After a certain point... we started feeling like we had enough things, and that we actually needed fewer things
 

G

Guest 6801328

Guest
What about Elf Dragons and Dragon Elves?

Or....just think of all the combinations for the progeny of Elves and Dragons. "Yeah, I'm a Prismatic Dragon Copper Elf. My full name has 18 hyphens."
 

Chaosmancer

Legend
What about Elf Dragons and Dragon Elves?

Or....just think of all the combinations for the progeny of Elves and Dragons. "Yeah, I'm a Prismatic Dragon Copper Elf. My full name has 18 hyphens."

The list was already meme worthy, I didn't want to get in trouble with the mods by going too crazy
 


Levistus's_Leviathan

5e Freelancer
Or....just think of all the combinations for the progeny of Elves and Dragons. "Yeah, I'm a Prismatic Dragon Copper Elf. My full name has 18 hyphens."
Reminds me of tinker gnomes in Dragonlance, where their stories literally tell the whole history of their family from its beginning to its end. That was one of the few things I actually liked about the Tinker Gnomes (though it is impractical).
 



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