D&D (2024) Which races would YOU put into the 50th anniversary Players Handbook?

[Bill Zebub]

It feels odd that a goliath PC (the hero after all?) couldn't be the strongest member of his race.

("Well, in order for your Goliath fighter to be the strongest member of the strongest race in the world, that means the record is only 20. And so I'm sorry, if someone in the party wants to make a 20 Str Halfling and tie you, there's nothing I can do. If you want to not be the strongest one, I'll put a 21 Str NPC Goliath out there so you can still have that good old Goliath pride .")

* Pre-emptively insert something about the trait that lets Goliath's carry more, and a switch to half-orcs or something else that's besides the point.

And if my character concept is that my halfling is…or will someday be…the strongest person in the world, is it wrong that every other PC could tie her?

I’m sorry but I just can’t get behind “your character’s existence lessens my enjoyment of my own character” as a design principle.

 

[Bill Zebub]

…and even if you cap halfling strength at 16, there’s always that level 20 halfling barbarian threatening the self-esteem of goliaths everywhere.

 

[Mind of tempest]

All of them!!!!

Now, I know everyone is like, “I wanna be a Mind Flayer.”

But c’mon. Slaad is where the action is AT!

you do know that would be harder to do than playing a half dragon which they do not let you do, they would need a dragon born a pc-sized aberration.

 

[Cadence]

And if my character concept is that my halfling is…or will someday be…the strongest person in the world, is it wrong that every other PC could tie her?

I’m sorry but I just can’t get behind “your character’s existence lessens my enjoyment of my own character” as a design principle.

I could be mistaken, but it feels like some folks playing fighters feel less happy when the wizard PC exists at their table ;-) (Even if that's to glib a way of phrasing it, it seems like dealing with linear fighter quadratic wizard and everything since have been design choice things.)

And I'm certain there are folks who don't enjoy when the ultra-optimized rule exploit characters are possible and dominate all three pillars over their character that has a back story and maybe even some weaknesses. (Is avoiding trap choices and really unbalanced options a design principal?)

And aren't there others who might be perfectly happy with their just below average size rolled character, until the one with a couple 18s and no bad ones shows up and is noticeably much more capable. (Is this why point buy and array were made as design choices?)

 

[Bill Zebub]

I could be mistaken, but it feels like some folks playing fighters feel less happy when the wizard PC exists at their table ;-) (Even if that's to glib a way of phrasing it, it seems like dealing with linear fighter quadratic wizard and everything since have been design choice things.)

Yeah I don’t understand that attitude.

And I'm certain there are folks who don't enjoy when the ultra-optimized rule exploit characters are possible and dominate all three pillars over their character that has a back story and maybe even some weaknesses. (Is avoiding trap choices and really unbalanced options a design principal?)

Or that one.

And aren't there others who might be perfectly happy with their just below average size rolled character, until the one with a couple 18s and no bad ones shows up and is noticeably much more capable. (Is this why point buy and array were made as design choices?)

Or that one.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

And this is why I think that race ought to have no mechanics attached. All of it should be lore. Everything should be culture and if you really want a superpower, buy it with a feat or two (BTW I subscribe to the idea that PCs aren't any special to begin with. The idea that someone is inherently better is abhorrent to me)

"Special" is not the same as "better," and differences in performance are not the same as differences in inherent worth. Michael Phelps has both the massive training and dedication to be an Olympic athlete (or at least he did, he may be retired now?), and the small but meaningful advantage of his genetics, which give a tiny, tiny edge over others....but when you are already at the peak, the top 0.01%, those small advantages become much more significant. That doesn't mean Mr. Phelps is a more valuable human being than you or me.

Olympic athletes collectively are a special kind of people. Even if they don't win a single medal, to be part of the Olympics is an honor and something that should, by definition, mean you don't match the generic statistics for human beings. Physically stronger, hardier, more flexible, etc. Recognizing that training and selection pressure combine to shift the population statistics for Olympic athletes compared to general humans is not some elitist garbage elevating them as inherently more noble; it is simply a recognition that they are choosing a life that makes them different in some ways, and that succeeding at that life necessarily filters out some people who make the attempt but don't measure up.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Yeah I don’t understand that attitude.




Or that one.



Or that one.

When you play a cooperative game, are you content to be confined to the sidelines while someone else does all the work and, consequently, deserves all the credit? E.g., say you were playing doubles in tennis, except your partner is Serena Williams, who hits the ball for you all the time because she knows, correctly, that she's better than you at tennis and that you personally will win more if she does all the work. Would you be enjoying your game of tennis?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Now, I know everyone is like, “I wanna be a Mind Flayer.”

I think a "Ceremorph" race option similar to the Dhampir could work (but with some psionic spellcasting instead of spider climb and deathless nature).

 

[Yaarel]

When you play a cooperative game, are you content to be confined to the sidelines while someone else does all the work and, consequently, deserves all the credit? E.g., say you were playing doubles in tennis, except your partner is Serena Williams, who hits the ball for you all the time because she knows, correctly, that she's better than you at tennis and that you personally will win more if she does all the work. Would you be enjoying your game of tennis?

But the situation is more off.

There are players who come across as demanding "low magic" and refuse to allow their Fighters to have nice things ... but then try to sabotage the Wizards because they do have nice things.

In the tennis game analogy, it is more like a teammate who refuses to learn how to play tennis, and then makes Serena Williams feel unwelcome precisely because she is good at tennis.

This self-sabotage along with envy is the attitude that his hard to sympathize with.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I think a "Ceremorph" race option similar to the Dhampir could work (but with some psionic spellcasting instead of spider climb and deathless nature).

In theory, "partial ceremorph" is literally the player character in the upcoming new Baldur's Gate game? IIRC you get implanted with the tadpole early and the game is at least partially about getting the damn thing out so it doesn't eat your brain and turn you into a mindflayer.