D&D General Race Has No Mechanics. What do you play?

W'rkncacnter · Saturday at 6:15 AM

Scribe said:
It is well written, I like it, but its not getting to the meat of the issue here at all.

What are these species, and what mechanics do they have? Yes we could infer, subjectively, that there are some cultural things going on, maybe a dash of magic, maybe some increased hardiness but if there is no mechanics behind it, its fluff.

Well written, nice structure, evocative, but its fluff, it doesnt nothing for me in play, on the game side.

"Race has no mechanics, what do you play?"

Human.

...uh. yeah. i agree.

Maxperson · Saturday at 6:26 AM

Baron Opal II said:
Yes, it is. Thanks for the benefit of the doubt.

These orcs have talents in woodworking, seamanship, enhanced strength and are lucky. These halflings are resistant to fire, have metal cunning, and enhanced dexterity.

Then none of that applies to the discussion. Homebrew races with different abilities than the standard versions are not applicable. You might as well claim that a 20th level wizard and a 20th level fighter are the same because this setting over here gives wizards fighter abilities.

Baron Opal II · Saturday at 8:18 AM

W'rkncacnter said:
this is really nicely written.

well, i mean, thulians can seemingly subsist on less food then humans while sunaya can speak to birds, according to those entries. i guess humans could do the latter with magic, but the text implies it's an innate ability, not a spell.

that said, i'd expect those two things to be represented as racial/heritage/ancestral/whatever word you wanna use mechanics, so...

Scribe said:
No, actually. Both could be Human, just as easily as anything else.

And I do not mean to be dismissive or disrespectful of the setting work, as its quite nice and evocative of the cultures at a high level and in brief, so well done, but it says nothing of the species.

Thank you!

It was an interesting challenge expressing dry mechanics narratively. I've found that I've become quite partial to the Sunaya. I need to find them a place in my world. Here is what I was attempting to convey:

Thulian
+2 Strength
Powerful Build (Counts as large size in certain circumstances)
Adaptive Metabolism (Requires only a third the food as normal. When in lack, loses Powerful Build)
Wood cunning (As per Stonecunning, culturally tied to shipwrighting)

Sunaya
+2 Charisma
Speak with typical birds (As per the gnome ability to speak with woodland creatures)
Heat Resistance (Ignore environmental heat effects, 1/2 or -6 damage from intense or magical fire, whichever is less)
Red smiths (As per Stonecunning, but with copper and its alloys)

A little disappointed that no one tried to derive the stats, but I didn't make that challenge.

Cergorach · Saturday at 12:02 PM

Corinnguard said:
If your group does role-play an all Tortle group, will their characters be in their teens and learning to be Monks from Way of the Shadow?

A Monk, a Fighter, an Artificer, and maybe a Bard?

Bluenose · Saturday at 12:12 PM

Corinnguard said:
What about the mechanics of a character class?

If the races are cosmetic and the classes still retain their mechanics, then the PC is defined by their class only.

If both the races and the classes are cosmetic, then how do we go about knowing what they are capable of and the limits?

D&D would become a LARP if this were to happen.

By having mechanics that aren't based on race and/or class. D&D has not always (often?) been good at handling things which go outside that but it hasn't resolved everything just through race and class abilities for a very long time.

Corinnguard · Saturday at 12:12 PM

Cergorach said:
A Monk, a Fighter, an Artificer, and maybe a Bard?

Donatello- Monk (Way of Shadow)/Artificer (UA-modern day Archivist. Archivist UA - DND 5th Edition ), Michelangelo- Monk (Way of Shadow), Bard (UA-College of Satire Bard: College of Satire (UA) - DND 5th Edition ), Raphael Monk (Way of the Shadow)/ Fighter (UA-Brute Fighter: Brute - DND 5th Edition ) and Leonardo (Way of the Shadow)/ Fighter (Samurai)?

Turtlefolk (5e Race) - D&D Wiki Check out the pic!

D&D General Race Has No Mechanics. What do you play?

W'rkncacnter

Hero

Maxperson

Morkus from Orkus

Baron Opal II

Hero

Cergorach

The Laughing One

Bluenose

Hero

Corinnguard

Hero

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