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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hurin70" data-source="post: 8183261" data-attributes="member: 6875491">Under the current system (before the Tasha's changes), Half-Orcs started the game stronger (higher max strength) and could reach maximum strength faster. This didn't mean the strongest Orc was stronger than the strongest Elf, of course, but at least it meant that Orcs were on average stronger, that the strongest starting Orc was stronger than the strongest starting Elf, and that the Orc reached maximum strength faster. You could with justification then describe Orcs as 'strong', as the PHB does. So no, the ship of 'ASI's tied to character descriptions' had not sailed till Tasha's left port. There was still a connection between the words and the numbers.Anyone who says that in previous editions, the numbers were completely unconnected to the lore is being disingenuous. Yes, D&D made new races not tied to the lore. But Minotaurs got strength bonuses because they came from mythology that defined them as strong. Dwarves got Con bonuses because they came from lore (Tolkien) that described them as tough and hardy. Etc.I am fine with using non-ASI means to represent racial differences. Rolemaster already does this in numerous ways, with racial feats (talents) such as Darkvision, with size rules (large size creatures like Trolls get more hit points and their attacks hit harder, while small size creatures like Halflings get fewer hit points and their attacks don't hit as hard). That's all great.But if you remove the ASI's entirely, then you're going to need to go through the PHB and cut out all the words that no longer accurately reflect the mechanics. You can't any longer describe a Dwarf as 'hardy', because as a race they are no hardier than any other. The best you can say is that Hill Dwarves are tough; Mountain Dwarves aren't any tougher than Elves or Gnomes. You also can no longer describe Orcs as 'strong', because they are no stronger than any other race; the best you can say is that they have 'savage attacks'. But they are literally no stronger than any other race anymore.That to me is a loss. I want to play in a world that is consonant with the lore; I want to play in a world where Minotaurs are stronger than Halflings, and Dwarves are tougher than Elves. I recognize your mileage may vary.</blockquote>

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