D&D 5E (2024) WotC Should Make 5.5E Specific Setting

As far as I understand you.

I view the 2024 Forgotten Realms setting as serving well the player options of 2024 core. I agree with those who want to see Dragonborn and Goliath more prominently integrated into the Sword Coast region. But this is a tweak of degree, not possibility. I find a significant but isolated community of Dragonborn in the Mere of Dead Men to be a satisfactory solution. I will decide later for a remote mountainous wilderness for the Goliath, near other Giants and a bit away from the dense Orc region. While official elaboration is nice, all the necessities are already in place.

I honestly dont perceive what else needs to happen to be "2024".
That's almost what an iPhone.

What I am saying is that the 2020 Forgotten Realms does not serve near equal role playing ability and gaming experience for the 2024 version of D&D 5th edition..

Everyone is focused on what kind of character I'm allowed to make my character as.

What I am focused on is what pieces of the games lore my character can interact with based on my choices.

Because of how old the Forgotten realm is and because of the favoritism of characters in the game due to their connections to other pieces of media, every origin does not have similar strength of lore.

If there was a Lore ability score some classes species and origins would have a +4 bonus, some a +2, and some a -1.

It's kind of like aspects in Fate or experiences in Daggerheart. Some classes species and origins would be very poor experiences aspects of archetypes in those kinds of games because no setting treats them even close to being equal.

It might just be me but I kind of like settings that are sort of balance somewhat on the lore side. Where choosing a character of a certain archetype is not stronger on the role-playing side of the game then another archetype.
 

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I really don't understand what this thing with entire companies of dragonborn mercenaries is. There aren't enough dragonborn on the planet for every major city to have a company of dragonborn. They might have a couple of dragonborn mercs in town, and maybe one or two in other occupations, but there wouldn't be a whole company of them.
New idea

Dragonborn are the fantasy Krogan.

A whole race of magically inclined super strong warriors in mercenary companies.

Instead of the Genophage, Dragonborn just die of old-fashioned way and their populations never grow
 

In the Greyhawk setting as presented in the 24 DMs Guide:

In the Old Keoland region of the subcontinent Flanaess, the mountainrange Jotens is an excellent place of origin of the Goliath species. It swaths the northern border of Yeomanry. An elected Goliath governs Yeomanry. All of the Giant species are nearby across the western mountainranges Crystalmist and Hellfurnaces, and the coastlands of Jeklea Bay. The name "Jotens" appears to derive from Norse Jötunn that includes every kind of Giant.

During this era of Greyhawk, the subcontinent Flannaess suffers escalating attacks from Tiamat. Her Chromatic Dragons and the Metallic Dragons who combat them are everywhere. Typically these Dragons are territorial solitary creatures with vast fly zones, but they gather in councils and for war. The Chromatics especially assault remote poorly defended Humanoid communities, to expand their territories. The western mountainranges Crystalmist and Hellfurnaces are known for their highly aggressive Chromatics. The order of the Watch builds fortresses across there to defend the nearby Humanoid communities. Even near the dense populations around Greyhawk City, various species of Dragon are active across the lands southeast, from Mistmarsh thru Bright Desert. Somewhere around Bright Desert suits a place of origin for the Dragonborn species as a diversely ancestral draconic community. Additionally Dragons soar frequently across Northern Flanaess. A norsesque Dragonborn community is appropriate in the North Kingdoms, such as Frost, and near waterways.

(My Greyhawk will make these regional North Dragonborn feature the colors of Black, Silver and Brass, and exhibit the Linnorm legless serpentine form, slithering upright with arms. These are born resembling snakes, developing arms when Wyrmling (playable level 1), only some later develop wings as Adults, and Ancients can reach Gargantuan sizes. These Dragonborn mature magically (optionally while leveling), and shed skin to reveal an emergent form. Moreover, individual Dragonborn can be born anywhere from an egg that a Dragon parent enchants.)

Normally, Tiefling lack a native culture, being whatever Humanoid culture they are born into. However the Cambion Iuz rules his namesake land that teems with Fiends. There are Tiefling here participating in the Fiendish cultures of their respective lineages.

The native cultures of each species are of interest. But typically these species are today citizens of the many diversely Humanoid communities.

Notably, Dwarves are prominent are in Mistmarsh near Greyhawk City, Hestmark Peaks near Sunndi, and especially the mountainranges of Old Keoland. A dwarven princess rules the principality of Ulek and commands a powerful navy. Gnomes are prominent in the highlands near Greyhawk City and of Hestmark Peaks near Sunndi, as well as the forests of Celene and mountains of Lortmil that divide Central Flanaess and Old Keoland. Gnomes are one of the founding species of the Valley of the Mage magocratic culture (the others being High Elf and Human). Halflings are prominent in Grandwood Forest near Sunndi and Lortil Mountains.

Of course, the traderoutes across Flanaess have long ago intermingled the Humanoid species. But even the brief setting descriptions of Greyhawk highlight locations where native cultures prevail, even for Goliath of the mountainrange Jotens and multispecies Yeomanry. Only the Dragonborn seem to need explicit locales for native cultures.
 
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New idea

Dragonborn are the fantasy Krogan.

A whole race of magically inclined super strong warriors in mercenary companies.

Instead of the Genophage, Dragonborn just die of old-fashioned way and their populations never grow
A mercenary culture can correspond to a nomadic culture, where each extended family defends itself - and well enough that the lands that they seasonally travel seek them out as mercenaries. These can be technologically urban because of their traderoute contacts, despite being tent dwellers. Also, the nomadism can be recent.

In the Forgotten Realms setting, the nomads can be Tymanther Dragonborn refugees that embraced a nomadic life as a sustainable economic niche. These families can even be well organized with a traveling monarchy or other form of government.

For the Greyhawk setting, think I will make the Bright Dragonborn near Greyhawk be this nomadic culture traveling seasonally between Greyhawk and Bright Desert. They maintain relations with the Dragons and the Humanoid communities along their routes.
 
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New idea

Dragonborn are the fantasy Krogan.

A whole race of magically inclined super strong warriors in mercenary companies.

Instead of the Genophage, Dragonborn just die of old-fashioned way and their populations never grow
In my homebrew setting, Dragonborn have a civilization vaguely akin to the Phoenicians/Carthage. They rule a loose confederation of city-states and are kings of maritime trade. They are also occasionally find themselves at odds with the dominant empire (that's a blend of Imperial Rome, Maurya India and Achaemenid Persia). Their cities are very cosmopolitan, with a large human cohort and a sizable halfling presence (the halfling population nearby are nomadic pastoralists, but some are curious about life in the cities).
 



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