What is the attraction?

[Limper]

I was just tossing an opinion in another thread and it occured to me to ask... what is the facination for the standard races. I like humans and thats it.

Why is it so important to have the non-human player races? The intent of this thread is to understand why people like other species... I believe there is more than enough diversity in one to make a thousand settings... what's the "need" to be a dwarf, or elf... etc.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Foundry of Decay]

You know.. I really don't know why I desire to be other types of critters.

I guess it's just a form of escapism, and alien fascination in my case. I like something different. Enigmatic elven types, monsterous creatures shunned by all but the small group who allow it to wander with them. The Dwarves that control the lava-flows beneath the earth's crust who seem to constantly have worried dignitaries from the surface races wandering below to make sure they aren't planning to destroy a city by burning out it's foundations..

I guess having a difference is just appealing to some. Yes, Humans could easily do all the same things (Well.. Not all, but most) that other races could, but I personally would get bored after a while with just having humans wandering around my setting..

Lastly, I like having creatures with different cultures.. Not different in that a handshake in one is an insult to another, but so different that it's truly alien to anything human.

 

[rounser]

what is the facination for the standard races.

People want to feel special and different, and an elf is viewed as more special than a human. And a drow is obviously even more special than an elf - and very cool to boot - thus the requests to play them.

It's also why I think that a lot of people find psionics more appealing than magic in D&D. Magic is everywhere, so psionics feels more special.

I think that a more enlightened approach to the game is to realise that the real special is in character personality. Love him or hate him, I doubt anyone would argue that Minsc from the Baldur's Gate games is anything but a special character.

I suspect that a lot of what gets dismissed as "munchkinism" is actually just a desire for the character to be special. "I wanna be the strongest swordsman on the sword coast!" Thus a lot of groups going over 25 point buy - 40 point buy is a lot more special! (Not that I go for that sort of thing...28 all the way.)

Now, excuse me, I'm off to make a 40 point buy drow psion with a pet hamster.

 

[Limper]

Name the hamster Boo and we'll forgive you.

 

[-Ekimus-]

well. I read the Hobbit for about 20 book reports in school, so i like Halflings, and i also liked thieves just cause, so a halfling was a natural choice.. its just fun to be DIFFERENT from the regular (humans)

 

[ConcreteBuddha]

Considering the fact that in 14 years of gaming I have played exactly one human PC, I'll answer your question:


Humans are boring.
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Seriously, though, why would I want to play a human when I am human in real-life?

I play DnD specifically so I can wield a greatsword or blast the Evil-Demon-Lord with a well-placed fireball, all within the confines of my imagination. I cannot do these things in real life. Neither can I be an elf, halfling or dwarf.

Worlds where humans are the only race bore me to tears. I can't stand WoT and Rokugan. (Even though Ogiers, Ratlings and Naga are all included, the main focus of these games are the human cultures. And having more than one of these races in a party kind of defeats the purpose of the campaign world. When we attempted WoT, four people wanted to play Ogiers.)

I also have a problem with people limiting other options, like classes or the pantheon. Worlds with no magic users bore me. Worlds with only one type of magic bore me. Worlds with only one god (or no gods) bore me. And the closer the game gets to being like real life, the more it bores me.

(The most boring game ever is playing normal humans in WoD. Bleh.)

Just my humble opinion...

 

[Black Omega]

Humans are boring. [/B]

Afraid I must disagree. Humans are tougher to do. They are the underdogs. But hardly boring.

Seriously, though, why would I want to play a human when I am human in real-life?

Well, I play humans sometimes because they are interesting. And more varied. You evidently need -alot- of escaping from reality. I doubt you'd like Call of Cthulu d20 much.

I play DnD specifically so I can wield a greatsword or blast the Evil-Demon-Lord with a well-placed fireball, all within the confines of my imagination. I cannot do these things in real life. Neither can I be an elf, halfling or dwarf.

At the same time, being able to wield a greatsword or fling a fireball has nothing to do with race.

Worlds where humans are the only race bore me to tears. I can't stand WoT and Rokugan. (Even though Ogiers, Ratlings and Naga are all included, the main focus of these games are the human cultures. And having more than one of these races in a party kind of defeats the purpose of the campaign world. When we attempted WoT, four people wanted to play Ogiers.)

You are missing out on some great worlds then. But you did hit on the main reason I've felt races come up alot. They are cool and they are special. As someone said, it's cool to play an elf. It's even more cool to play a drow. And races are special. The race can be the concept. You can play an elf or a dwarf and just add a little more. For a human you need to put more thought into background, personality and concept since being human doesn't give you that. For most races their powers, and personalities are to a degree predefined. And you then see two types. the sterotype. The dwarven fighter who likes ale. The elven wizard treehugger. Or you see the anti-sterotype. These are even more special and cool because they go against set sterotype.

Being human is tough. They don't give you an automatic concept to build off of. They aren't the fastest, strongest or toughest. And they lack the cool special abilities every other race has. They are the underdogs and that in and of itself can be pretty fun to play.

(The most boring game ever is playing normal humans in WoD. Bleh.)

Well,the most boring for you, yes. I've had alot of fun with humans in a supernatural world. This is very much a matter of individual taste.

 

[Number47]

You might as well ask, "Why play anything other than a fighter?" Certainly there is enough diversity that every human fighter can be different? So shouldn't we all be human fighters?

 

[hong]

I mostly play humans; I don't see how it's really that boring. The thing about humans is that there are usually no expectations of what you're supposed to be like, unlike elves (girly tree-huggers), dwarves (gruff, with a Scottish accent), or orcs (big and dumb). This means you have a bit more freedom to play anything you like; and with six billion of us around, it's not like I'm lacking for inspiration.

That said, the last PC I had was a spirit folk female. It's nice to break out of the mould now and then. And hey, a few funky abilities on the side never hurt anyone.

 

[Limper]

Dont get me wrong I also have on occasion played (or been forced to by campaign situations) other species its just as the years have gone by I don't enjoy it much anymore. I never truely feel I've portrayed another species... its hard enough to just be another person let alone a being who live in harmony with nature (so very not like people), and does so for for 500 years (this alone is incomprehensible to me 100's of years of life..shudder). I also don't like the inherent stereotypes associated with the standard races. I've been gaming for 20+ years... I've read the books... The racial archetypes have grown old and stale in my eyes.

For those who say humans are boring... I to disagree... they are the only race in 3e which HELP you to make the character your own.