WotC WotC general D&D survey just went live.

[mamba]

They could if they did it like Level Up.

So how is LU doing it? Just took a quick look and they have no half-X, only 8 full races. So how do you mix e.g. a Dragonborn and Orc in LU?

All I find is 'With your Narrator’s approval, you can choose a heritage gift from a heritage other than the one you originally chose; this allows for the easy creation of adventurers with parents of two different heritages, or use of bases other than human for heritages such as tieflings.' Isn't that basically where 1DD is headed?

In the 1DD playtest it read 'If you’d like to play the child of such a wondrous pairing, choose two Race options that are Humanoid to represent your parents. Then determine which of those Race options provides your game traits: Size, Speed, and special traits. You can then mix and match visual characteristics—color, ear shape, and the like—of the two options'. That is basically the exact same thing, so I am not sure why you condemn 1DD and praise LU, must be instinct at this point.

 

[Arilyn]

They could if they did it like Level Up.

I love how Level Up handles half races. It's one of my favourite parts of the game. The first character I got to make and use is a halfling/gnome ranger. She's awesome.

 

[Micah Sweet]

not unless there is a reason to. Just keeping mechanics for the sake of keeping them does not sound like design either.

Concerning races, if WotC wants half-anything rather than two or three specific ones, then they would have to come up with 45 mechanical distinct options that also match their base races. Seems a lot of work for little gain. This was feasible with 2 or 3, but at 45 it falls apart.

Two points, reiterated (again):

1. They are mechanics which are appreciated by gamers, including real people for whom mixed heritage is a real thing.

2. Other companies, like ENPublishing and Kobold Press, have found ways to make it work mechanically.

 

[Micah Sweet]

So how is LU doing it? Just took a quick look and they have no half-X, only 8 full races. So how do you mix e.g. a Dragonborn and Orc in LU?

All I find is 'With your Narrator’s approval, you can choose a heritage gift from a heritage other than the one you originally chose; this allows for the easy creation of adventurers with parents of two different heritages, or use of bases other than human for heritages such as tieflings.' Isn't that basically where 1DD is headed?

In the playtest it read 'If you’d like to play the child of such a wondrous pairing, choose two Race options that are Humanoid to represent your parents. Then determine which of those Race options provides your game traits: Size, Speed, and special traits. You can then mix and match visual characteristics—color, ear shape, and the like—of the two options'. Thaty is basically the exact same thing, so I am not sure why you condemn 1DD so much and praise LU so much, must be instinct at this point.

Heritages in LU consist of heritage traits and a heritage gift. To make a PC with a mixed heritage, you choose the traits from one heritage and the gift from another. In the playtest, you pick all the mechanical expressions from one species, and just roleplay whatever you want. Does that seem like the same thing to you?

Also, the personal snark is not appreciated.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Right, I'm sure WotC is once again, forced to follow the winds of "market forces", as @Parmandur said. Kind of makes them not game designers at all, really.

As opposed to following the winds of "everything Micah Sweet wants", wherein they are wise and brilliant creators, right?

 

[bedir than]

WotC wants the 2024 edition to be the final one that just gets tweaked. If so, probably needs a major overhaul. Bite the bullet and make 6e.

They haven't said this.

They have said that 5e is the final edition and that everything moving forward will be revisions, as that's all OneD&D is.

 

[Micah Sweet]

As opposed to following the winds of "everything Micah Sweet wants", wherein they are wise and brilliant creators, right?

Plenty of games out there that aren't to my tastes. I still respect them in a way that WotC has lost. They have a legacy as, like it or not, the legal custodians of the D&D name that they're not living up to, in my view. Its not about what I want, as much as they've stopped doing that. It's about being the best  game company they can be.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Also, the personal snark is not appreciated.

I know, right? Kinda like that guy who said of Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins et, al...

"Kind of makes them not game designers at all, really."

That dude's personal snark ought to be checked as well!

Oh, wait...

 

[Micah Sweet]

I know, right? Kinda like that guy who said of Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins et, al...

"Kind of makes them not game designers at all, really."

That dude's personal snark ought to be checked as well!

Oh, wait...

Would you prefer, "kind of like WotC won't let them be game designers at all, really"?

I'm happy to change my phrasing.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Would you prefer, "kind of like WotC won't let them be game designers at all, really"?

I'm happy to change my phrasing.

Oh no... you can say whatever it is you want. I just find the request for someone else to tone down their snark to be a little ironic is all. LOL.