D&D General what are the traits of the mystical races of dnd?

[Mind of tempest]

In my grand and utterly necessary plan to make something that can be used for the purposes of an elf without being an elf i have finally narrowed down what basic function I am looking for is the mystical races of most of fiction with the other types of proud scholar race types as also options
I want to identify the core traits so I can figure out the core of the setting role and thus make something up to spec but still different from the elf.
by setting role I mean like you have a lot of setting with big brute races, humans as the mundane glue something small and cute and so on made to appeal to different types of player/audience.

 

[Mind of tempest]

does no one know or is this a no one cares? because I ask because I do not see the nest of ideas that makes up the relevant subject?

 

[Cadence]

I've been pondering what's in my favorite fiction and need a bit more time.

 

[Yaarel]

The "five guy band" trope has:

• jock guy (singer)
• rebel guy (guitar)
• strong guy (drums)
• heart guy (accompaniment)
• smart guy (synthesizer)

These often correlate the choice of five or so races in a setting.

There are different ways to interpret these, but the jock guy is more often than not, the human race. The strong guy is the brute race. The heart guy can be a cute race, alternatively an inspirational, healing, or romantic race. The rebel guy is the opposite of the jock guy − whatever way the jock gets portrayed the rebel is the foil to contrast and heighten the jock. Often, the rebel is the one that complains. The rebel guy is often a bad kid race (bad boy or bad girl). The jock tends to be well rounded, a mix of brain, brawn, and social skills, hence human.

The smart guy can be the "mystic race" or "scholarly race", sometimes a high tech (magic item) expert, sometimes a mentor.

Giants can be mystic, with vast memory and intelligence, even scholarly. Giants are definitely not "elves".

 

[Mind of tempest]

I've been pondering what's in my favorite fiction and need a bit more time.

favourite is irrelevant I just want examples please.

The "five guy band" trope has:

• jock guy (singer)
• rebel guy (guitar)
• strong guy (drums)
• heart guy (accompaniment)
• smart guy (synthesizer)

These often correlate the choice of five or so races in a setting.

There are different ways to interpret these, but the jock guy is more often than not, the human race. The strong guy is the brute race. The heart guy can be a cute race, alternatively an inspirational, healing, or romantic race. The rebel guy is the opposite of the jock guy − whatever way the jock gets portrayed the rebel is the foil to contrast and heighten the jock. Often, the rebel is the one that complains. The rebel guy is often a bad kid race (bad boy or bad girl). The jock tends to be well rounded, a mix of brain, brawn, and social skills, hence human.

The smart guy can be the "mystic race" or "scholarly race", sometimes a high tech (magic item) expert, sometimes a mentor.

Giants can be mystic, with vast memory and intelligence, even scholarly. Giants are definitely not "elves".

giant has too much overlap with the strong guy.
secondly, I want the traits of smart guy races not a specific example, just the traits and their examples?

 

[DEFCON 1]

The traits of the 'smart guy' races? Your standard tropes are they have grand knowledge of magic/technology, they tend to be aloof or stand-offish because the assumption is you are either really smart or really charismatic (but not both), their use of logic and reason reduces their concern for emotional or spiritual things, and because of their intelligence they know factually that they are smarter than other people which tends to make them seem arrogant to everyone else (even if they are not trying to be.)

Elves, Vulcans, Egon Spengler, Dr. Strange, Dr. House etc.

But these are all your stereotypical brainiac types. There's no reason you can't play against type and make a loving, caring and concerned smart-guy race if you wanted.

 

[Yaarel]

secondly, I want the traits of smart guy races not a specific example, just the traits and their examples?

There are many different kinds of "smart guy".

• Math genius
• Archeologist
• Prescient psychic
• High-tech gadgetry wizard
• Biological ecologist
• Observant detective

A psychologist people-person or a medical doctor healer might be the heart guy, but the smart guy can be nurturing, especially in a parental way.

Interestingly, some tv shows (I love to bingewatch early scifi), like Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Gate Atlantis, are ALL SMART GUYS. But then these smart guys subdivide into the five guy band tropes. So one smart guy is a strong army-of-one, one smart guy is an inspirational heart guy, and so on.

 

[Yaarel]

Your standard tropes are they have grand knowledge of magic/technology, they tend to be aloof or stand-offish because the assumption is you are either really smart or really charismatic (but not both), their use of logic and reason reduces their concern for emotional or spiritual things, and because of their intelligence they know factually that they are smarter than other people which tends to make them seem arrogant to everyone else (even if they are not trying to be.)

When the tropes are binary between emotion versus logic (red oni, blue oni), the emotional one is often the strong guy, in the sense of a raging brute, whereas the logical one is the heart guy, in the sense of concerned and nuanced.

It can be the other way around, where the logic is strong, in the sense of willing to destroy a city or planet, while the emotion is the heart guy, helping the logic understand why it is worthwhile to let them live.

 

[Mind of tempest]

The traits of the 'smart guy' races? Your standard tropes are they have grand knowledge of magic/technology, they tend to be aloof or stand-offish because the assumption is you are either really smart or really charismatic (but not both), their use of logic and reason reduces their concern for emotional or spiritual things, and because of their intelligence they know factually that they are smarter than other people which tends to make them seem arrogant to everyone else (even if they are not trying to be.)

Elves, Vulcans, Egon Spengler, Dr. Strange, Dr. House etc.

But these are all your stereotypical brainiac types. There's no reason you can't play against type and make a loving, caring and concerned smart-guy race if you wanted.

I was looking for more detail.

There are many different kinds of "smart guy".

• Math genius
• Archeologist
• Prescient psychic
• High-tech gadgetry wizard
• Biological ecologist
• Observant detective

A psychologist people-person or a medical doctor healer might be the heart guy, but the smart guy can be nurturing, especially in a parental way.

Interestingly, some tv shows (I love to bingewatch early scifi), like Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Gate Atlantis, are ALL SMART GUYS. But then these smart guys subdivide into the five guy band tropes. So one smart guy is a strong army-of-one, one smart guy is an inspirational heart guy, and so on.

I meant it regards to culture, not an individual.

 

[Yaarel]

I meant it regards to culture, not an individual.

I too mean culture.

A culture of archeologists, prescients, high-tech gadgets, etcetera.