D&D General What is the purpose of race/heritage?

[Scribe]

Can a post be both funny and sad?

I'm sure there is a word for it.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Paizo sort of did this in PF1. They were able to take mechanical parts and assign point values to them. GM sets the point value and you build to it.

I expected that custom linage would be more inclusive. I would love to be able to mix and match traits... even if you have a few default 'packages'

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Yeah the custom lineage was rather pathetic.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Yeah the custom lineage was rather pathetic.

There’s actually an old thread I found that has a really good point-buy based lineage builder that I’d pick over the official custom lineage any day of the week, it’s not against thread etiquette to link it is it?

 

[Jack Daniel]

Having nonhuman main characters is a genre convention in fantasy that we owe to Baum, Burroughs, Lewis, Tolkien, Anderson, Moorcock, Brooks, &al., &al., &al.…

 

[Celebrim]

There’s actually an old thread I found that has a really good point-buy based lineage builder that I’d pick over the official custom lineage any day of the week, it’s not against thread etiquette to link it is it?

No.

 

[MGibster]

A funny hat.

I'm starting to wonder if that's really all we need. I don't exactly play D&D games with deep themes, so why should I expect or desire a lot of depth to PC races?

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm starting to wonder if that's really all we need. I don't exactly play D&D games with deep themes, so why should I expect or desire a lot of depth to PC races?

People want different things out of heritage, that much is clear. I would rather have more than less, so would prefer defaults to not be minimalist impressions.

 

[CreamCloud0]

No.

Well then, here it is, personally the only balancing change I would make to it is give a free +1 ASI, maybe two? To help reach the +2,+1 standard of most races.
D&D 5E - Racial Trait Values or, A Hodge Podge of Points

 

[Reynard]

If aesthetic is all that matters why don’t we just trash all the existing races, go all in on custom lineage builder and let people flavour their creations however they wish

1) Why don't we? With "we" being people that want to play it that way.
2) Which isn't me. At all. I was just offering an explanation.