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What new jargon do you want to replace "Race"?
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<blockquote data-quote="Hriston" data-source="post: 8866778" data-attributes="member: 6787503"><p>My personal preference is for it to be left to the group to imagine the reasons for traits. When everything has an answer, it starts to feel a bit stale and uninteresting to me, like everything has a scientific explanation. It's actually just unnecessary baked-in lore. I understand if that's not everyone's preference though.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>"As a forest gnome, you have a natural knack for illusion"</em></p><p>I don't think that definition captures the way <em>natural </em>is being used here. That would mean that gnomes have a knack for illusion that exists in nature or is caused by natural processes. I don't think that's what it's saying. Here's definition 2 (also from Google):</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">2. of or in agreement with the character or makeup of, or circumstances surrounding, someone or something.</p><p>This would mean that gnomes have a knack for illusion that agrees with their character, or is part of their makeup or circumstances that surround them. I.e. for gnomes, illusion comes naturally.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>"As a forest gnome, you have ... inherent quickness and stealth."</em></p><p>Right, so quickness and stealth are attributes that exist in gnomes permanently and are essential to and characteristic of what a gnome is. This doesn't tell us what makes a gnome quick and stealthy. Maybe it's their small size and a genetic predisposition for fine motor control. Or maybe there's something magical about gnomes that explains their speed and ability to disappear. They are, after all, naturally gifted when it comes to illusion.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>"Your dwarf character has an assortment of inborn abilities"</em></p><p>This could mean a dwarf has these abilities as soon as it's born, but see the usage note below the definition:</p><ul style="margin-left: 20px"> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">natural to a person or animal.</li> </ul><p>When <em>inborn </em>is used this way, the quoted passage could mean a dwarf has these abilities that are part of its dwarven makeup or are in agreement with its dwarven character. This really doesn't tell us much.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm not sure what you mean by "this". I think some things are obviously passed down, like weapon training or language, and some other things, like Keen Senses, are questionable as to whether they are attributable to "nature" or to "nurture". <em>Nature, </em>however, doesn't necessarily mean <em>biology.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hriston, post: 8866778, member: 6787503"] My personal preference is for it to be left to the group to imagine the reasons for traits. When everything has an answer, it starts to feel a bit stale and uninteresting to me, like everything has a scientific explanation. It's actually just unnecessary baked-in lore. I understand if that's not everyone's preference though. [I]"As a forest gnome, you have a natural knack for illusion"[/I] I don't think that definition captures the way [I]natural [/I]is being used here. That would mean that gnomes have a knack for illusion that exists in nature or is caused by natural processes. I don't think that's what it's saying. Here's definition 2 (also from Google): [INDENT]2. of or in agreement with the character or makeup of, or circumstances surrounding, someone or something.[/INDENT] This would mean that gnomes have a knack for illusion that agrees with their character, or is part of their makeup or circumstances that surround them. I.e. for gnomes, illusion comes naturally. [I]"As a forest gnome, you have ... inherent quickness and stealth."[/I] Right, so quickness and stealth are attributes that exist in gnomes permanently and are essential to and characteristic of what a gnome is. This doesn't tell us what makes a gnome quick and stealthy. Maybe it's their small size and a genetic predisposition for fine motor control. Or maybe there's something magical about gnomes that explains their speed and ability to disappear. They are, after all, naturally gifted when it comes to illusion. [I]"Your dwarf character has an assortment of inborn abilities"[/I] This could mean a dwarf has these abilities as soon as it's born, but see the usage note below the definition: [INDENT][LIST] [*]natural to a person or animal. [/LIST][/INDENT] When [I]inborn [/I]is used this way, the quoted passage could mean a dwarf has these abilities that are part of its dwarven makeup or are in agreement with its dwarven character. This really doesn't tell us much. I'm not sure what you mean by "this". I think some things are obviously passed down, like weapon training or language, and some other things, like Keen Senses, are questionable as to whether they are attributable to "nature" or to "nurture". [I]Nature, [/I]however, doesn't necessarily mean [I]biology.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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What new jargon do you want to replace "Race"?
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