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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 8190688" data-attributes="member: 6915329">OK, to get to another part of this issue, I think at least some of the problem is with the way the game treats culture--they do so in a way that's often synonymous with race. Just the other, "learned" parts of the race statblock.As an example, pulling from the Ancestries and Culture book from Arcanist Press, elf lineage includes age/lifespan, size, speed, Darkvision, Keen Senses, Fey Ancestries, and Trance. Cultures are then split into High, Wood, and Dark, and each of those includes the racial ASIs. This, I think, is part of the problem, because people get the idea that if you have a halfling raised by goliaths, there's no way that halfling is going to get +2 Str. And while I fully believe, as y'all have seen, that halflings should be able to put that +2 in Strength for any reason they want, I agree it's a bit silly that "raised by goliaths" should be the sole justification or reason.In reality, though, culture shouldn't be presented as being the other part of race. It should be independent of it. So a culture should be along the line:Fey Forest Dweller. You were raised in the dark and mysterious fey-filled forests. The sylvan magic has permeated your character, causing them to develop unusual abilities. Pick two of the following abilities: where possible abilities include forest gnome-style beast speech, eladrin-style fey step, firbolg-style turning invisible, cantrips and 1/rest 1st-level spell, etc.versus Open Woods Dweller. There are lawless woodlands between the kingdoms. Some people, like many elves and orcs, prefer to live there, disdaining human "civilization." Others, like bandits and exiles, have little choice where else to live. Pick two of the following abilities: where possible abilities include wood elf-style increased movement, wood elf-style ability to hide in lightly obscured abilities, specific weapon proficiencies, such as in bows and spears, and proficiency in Nature or Survival, ability to find food and materials in woodlands, etc.</blockquote>

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