D&D 5E Yes to factionalism. No to racism.

[Umbran]

Edit to add: 3) Why there has to be anything mechanical connected to it (aside from some recommended backgrounds that might come along with each)

Has to be? No. But it is a bit of design space that could be used, so why not at least consider it?

 

[HammerMan]

In the end, I don't care if Menzoberranzan drows aren't all evil. They already are divided in dozens of sub-factions by family and alliances that shift and change faster than you can catalogue them. All I care about it that in Menzoberanzan, evil drows are in charge, and everyone (who want to live) play by their rule. In this setting, Menzoberanzan is the enemy, with all the yuk and (im)moral crap that goes with it. And I hope that my PCs will rise above that.

That I can 100% go with (part of me wants to make a snarky thing about politicians and all cities) those in charge are evil... most inside the power structure (and in most cities) are most likely more neutral/unaligned. really good guys are rare in that environment but evil shouldn't be the default and by rare I think 5-10% being good and 60-70% being neutral/unaligned and the top20ish% being evil works perfect...

I mean you may get some issue with the neutral/unaligned just following evil orders (but I could again make some poltical snark) but I think it works

 

[Oofta]

Not necessarily.

MTG has been milking the same 5 factions over multiple settings for decades now.

Green Elves and Dwarves vs Purple Elves and Dwarves vs Orange Elves and Dwarves!

I could also say that all drow that are followers of Lollth are evil. You don't encounter drow that are not followers of Lollth in my campaign because they aren't relevant to the campaigns I run.

Actually in my campaign world it's a bit more complicated than that and has been for several editions. The majority of Lollth's followers are drow, but not all. Many thieves, con men and not a few politicians (is there a difference between the latter two?) of various races enjoy spinning webs of intrigue.

In any case, the drow that escape Lollth's clutches have to leave the Svartleheim (the underdark) in order to survive. Once they leave Svartleheim they slowly lose most of the black pigmentation (which is akin to a bad sunburn) and become gray elves who tend to form a society separate from other elves.

So it's not technically that they are evil because they are drow, they're evil because of the god that they worship and are controlled by. But the cart and the horse are still going down the same road, I'm not sure it matters which one is in the lead. You could say the same thing about followers of Gruumsh or Yeenaghu or whatever god that are worshipped by races that are frequently evil

 

[Weiley31]

For the Drow, I honestly wouldn't mind having the old side bar and the new errata side bar together in one big sidebar bout the Drow.

 

[Scribe]

So it's not technically that they are evil because they are drow, they're evil because of the god that they worship and are controlled by. But the cart and the horse are still going down the same road, I'm not sure it matters which one is in the lead. You could say the same thing about followers of Gruumsh or Yeenaghu or whatever god that are worshipped by races that are frequently evil

Man, imagine if people actually just understood this.

 

[Laurefindel]

That I can 100% go with (part of me wants to make a snarky thing about politicians and all cities) those in charge are evil... most inside the power structure (and in most cities) are most likely more neutral/unaligned. really good guys are rare in that environment but evil shouldn't be the default and by rare I think 5-10% being good and 60-70% being neutral/unaligned and the top20ish% being evil works perfect...

I mean you may get some issue with the neutral/unaligned just following evil orders (but I could again make some poltical snark) but I think it works

Actually, I consider many leaders of "good" nations in FR to be morally evil. They don't go out of their way to kick puppies, they root for "the good guys", and are nice to their own people, but no; they're not Good.

 

[Minigiant]

I could also say that all drow that are followers of Lollth are evil. You don't encounter drow that are not followers of Lollth in my campaign because they aren't relevant to the campaigns I run.

Actually in my campaign world it's a bit more complicated than that and has been for several editions. The majority of Lollth's followers are drow, but not all. Many thieves, con men and not a few politicians (is there a difference between the latter two?) of various races enjoy spinning webs of intrigue.

In any case, the drow that escape Lollth's clutches have to leave the Svartleheim (the underdark) in order to survive. Once they leave Svartleheim they slowly lose most of the black pigmentation (which is akin to a bad sunburn) and become gray elves who tend to form a society separate from other elves.

So it's not technically that they are evil because they are drow, they're evil because of the god that they worship and are controlled by. But the cart and the horse are still going down the same road, I'm not sure it matters which one is in the lead. You could say the same thing about followers of Gruumsh or Yeenaghu or whatever god that are worshipped by races that are frequently evil

My point is that factions are not necessarily tied to settings.

With factions, you can have the Purples be the Drow Elves in one setting and the Dark Dwarves on another setting.

On one setting is Order vs Chaos vs Balance vs Freedom.

On another setting it's Light vs Dark vs Life vs Death.

 

[Weiley31]

I am puzzled by this fancy debate over culture and background. Are you evil and can I kill you and take your stuff?

Do they roll dice too?

 

[Yaarel]

In this template a valenar elf would be something like:

Elf:

darkvision, trance, sleep and charm resist.

Valenar:

spirits of the past: you gain proficiency with history and another skill of you choice.

valenar weapon training: you gain proficiency with the double scimitar.

I expect the future format for the elf race to update. Compare the UA with astral elf. But anyway, something like.



Elf race: darkvision, trance (sleep immunity, proficiency swapping), magic resistance (charm), Perception skill.

Wood elf "variant": speed increase, hide in nature.



Setting-dependent, wood elf native cultures: Valenar, Grugach, Copper, Kagonesti, etcetera.

Cultural Backgrounds:

Valenar Ancestral Warrior (double-scimitar proficiency, history, etcetera)
Grugach Trapper, etcetera (survival, animal handling, cooshee breeder, athletics, climbing speed, amnesia spell, pit-and-snare tools)

etcetera

Each culture comes with prominent backgrounds within that culture.

 

[Scribe]

I expect the future format for the elf race to update. Compare the UA with astral elf. But anyway, something like.



Elf race: darkvision, trance (sleep immunity, proficiency swapping), magic resistance (charm), Perception skill.

Wood elf "variant": speed increase, hide in nature.



Setting-dependent, wood elf native cultures: Valenar, Grugach, Copper, Kagonesti, etcetera.

Cultural Backgrounds:

Valenar Ancestral Warrior (double-scimitar proficiency, history, etcetera)
Grugach Trapper, etcetera (survival, animal handling, cooshee breeder, athletics, climbing speed, amnesia spell, pit-and-snare tools)

etcetera

Each culture comes with prominent backgrounds within that culture.

Yes, now we are getting somewhere.