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10 months ago ::
Aug 31, 2012 - 3:02PM
#11
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I played a scro PC in a Spelljammer campaign (for 2nd Edition). They're basically militaristic orcs that really, really hate elves. Heck, they even learn elven to intimidate their chosen foes. Dragonstar, a futuristic spacefaring D&D 3e campaign setting (by a third-party publisher) had rules for full orc characters. Never played it though. Yeah, all-in-all, I'd say we're ready for full orcs as a PC race  .
/\ Art
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10 months ago ::
Aug 31, 2012 - 4:35PM
#12
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I think the non-standard races should either have their own book, or should simply have a PC section for them in the monster book that they appear in. Orcs are still a monster race, even though they can and do make fine PCs.
If they're going to do them, they need to take their time and do them right. None of that 4e minotaur crap, which spawned at least one forum version that people think was better but not more powerful. If they do that, then they will deserve their own book, and I will buy that book. I will buy the crap out of that book. All night long. 
Why Mechanics-Alignment Integration is Bad
Show
so why even play a fighter if you can play the paladin the exact same way behaviorally and get added power to boot. "Paladin" is about accepting better game-enhancing mechanics at the price of more rigid in game behavior.
Really? So it goes something like this?
Fighter: "I want to be a paladin."
NPC: "Really?"
Fighter: "Yes."
NPC: "Very well." Starts reading from a holy book while still in-character "Do you accept having to choose and stick to the lawful good alignment, eventhough neither of us actually knows that it exists or what it is?"
Fighter: "I do."
NPC: "Do you reject good game balance because you accidentally rolled a high Charisma?"
Fighter: "What?"
NPC: "I don't know what it means either."
Fighter: "Oh. Umm, ok I do."
NPC: "In the name of all that is metagamey and broken, accept these better game enhancing mechanics."
Fighter: "These what?"
NPC: "Just get out there and try to fulfill a million different people's notion of good while not violating and part of any of them."
So the system is designed such that every single hit needs to be described to avoid confusion? Here's a scenario. The players are nudists, everybody in the world are nudists, it's not weird, it's totally normal in this land. They are naked and they fight drakes taking damage throughout, but healing up with surges. Later they meet the guy who raised the drakes.
Part 1: I didn't describe any of the hits. What does he see?
Part 2: Lets say I described the drakes as biting the players, yet they healed up. What does he see?
D20 Modern Toon PC Race.
Mecha Pilot's Skill Challenge Emporium.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 31, 2012 - 4:46PM
#13
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Date Joined:
Mar 22, 2008
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I think the non-standard races should either have their own book, or should simply have a PC section for them in the monster book that they appear in. Orcs are still a monster race, even though they can and do make fine PCs.
If they're going to do them, they need to take their time and do them right. None of that 4e minotaur crap, which spawned at least one forum version that people think was better but not more powerful. If they do that, then they will deserve their own book, and I will buy that book. I will buy the crap out of that book. All night long.
I'm split. I think the more common monster PC races should have their own books. By that I mean goblinoids, orcs, etc. The ones people love to play. The less common ones that are still kinda sorta playable can be blurbs in the monster manuals.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 31, 2012 - 6:02PM
#14
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Whether Orcs make sense as a main PC race depends a lot on what Orcs are like by default in Next. If Orcs are Always Chaotic Evil monstrous stupid violent deathmurder machines then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and half-orcs can just continue to serve their normal function of allowing players to play an orcish race with a built-in reason to have a bit of humanity in it. If orcs are basically burly sickly-colored tribalistic humans with a cruel streak and jacked teeth, then they're much more natural as a PC race.
That said, I think that there's a bit too much silhouette overlap between orcs and half-orcs for both to be PC races unless they do some additional building on giving Half-orcs their own schtick, like has been done with half-elves over the years.* Having orcs as a PC race also kind of weakens the big traditional Half-orc character hook of dealing with being half-monster (or just simply monstrous, depending on your half-orc character origin). It's hard to have the same pathos about being diet orc if there's regular orcs in your adventuring party.
That's not to say that they couldn't carve out some kind of space for half-orcs. 4e did it a bit. You could sort of steal the 4e Goliath schtick and make them fiercely competitive, or play up a sort of Jekyll-and-Hyde angle where many half-orcs either struggle to keep their orc instincts under control or else behave in a hyper-civilized manner to fully keep those instincts under wraps.
*I incidentally absolutely love the idea that half-elves are often natural leaders who are energetic and charismatic and good at working with others. It takes them in a bit of a different direction and makes them more than diet elves, plus it's a silhouette that's not already "taken" among core races.
Dwarves invented beer so they could toast to their axes. Dwarves invented axes to kill people and take their beer.
Swanmay Syndrome: Despite the percentages given in the Monster Manual, in reality 100% of groups of swans contain a Swanmay, because otherwise the DM would not have put any swans in the game.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 31, 2012 - 6:27PM
#15
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Date Joined:
Mar 22, 2008
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Whether Orcs make sense as a main PC race depends a lot on what Orcs are like by default in Next. If Orcs are Always Chaotic Evil monstrous stupid violent deathmurder machines then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and half-orcs can just continue to serve their normal function of allowing players to play an orcish race with a built-in reason to have a bit of humanity in it. If orcs are basically burly sickly-colored tribalistic humans with a cruel streak and jacked teeth, then they're much more natural as a PC race.
Well, to be fair, orcs have never always been CE. When an alignment says CE for a race, it simply means that the majority of that race holds that alignment, but that you will still find the full range of alignments among their kind. The good ones will tend to not survive for long, though.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 31, 2012 - 6:40PM
#16
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Date Joined:
Oct 11, 2011
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YES!!! The concept of intelligent humanoids not being pc races is just so outdated. I would accept full race blocks in the backs of monster manuals but I would really prefer Orcs at very least being in the PHB, half orc can be some random human subrace (if they keep subraces, which they probably will.) Give the full blooded warriors their due respect.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 31, 2012 - 6:48PM
#17
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Date Joined:
Jan 15, 2009
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Tolkeinian Orcs... aka ugly twisted broken elves use the stats for ealves but ditch the fluff of beauty. An Orc with a personality strong enough to be become a hero wouldnt necessarily get the Charisma penalty the rest of them suffer for being broken spirits...ie easily manipulated by Sauron.
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10 months ago ::
Sep 01, 2012 - 1:00AM
#18
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Date Joined:
May 18, 2002
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Everything should be a playable race.
Everything!
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10 months ago ::
Sep 01, 2012 - 1:49AM
#19
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Date Joined:
Jan 16, 2012
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I am really leaning in favor for the half-elf and half-orc being a sub race like the mountain/hil dwarf. Perhaps because my mind would be pretty blown by having a choice of two diffrent half-orcs. In 4e half-orcs were great even a little overpowered but I never got how half orcs were agile it never sat right with me but when you play a half-orc monk or barbarian you tend to keep quiet. But as far weaving orcs into the game world I think Skyrim did a pretty decent job of incorporating them. Yeah they ae scary looking but they mostly keep to themselves in there strongholds and if they do venture out its ussaully to serve in the army, do back breaking labor or work as well respected artisans. They kicked a lot of butt back in the day but things aren't looking to great for them now. A mixture of badass history and brutal culture with the unease of being refugees fleeing an adopted homeland.
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10 months ago ::
Sep 01, 2012 - 3:52AM
#20
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Date Joined:
Feb 19, 2007
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Everything should be a playable race.
Everything!
Yes!
If it's intelligent, give us rules to play it as a pc!
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