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8 months ago ::
Oct 25, 2012 - 4:38PM
#171
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Date Joined:
Nov 17, 2011
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And so forth-- it didn't matter if it didn't belong, every single setting published in 4E was required to include every single race from all the PHBs as races with no issues dealing with the others, who were universally beloved and accepted, who were never antagonistic and were so damn common and normal, one could hardly run through any random street without coming across one and would never think twice about that.
Yeah, that's exactly why I don't want dragonborn as base races. I don't want the expectation that these races are going to be included in every campaign setting everywhere.
I don't care if there are rules for these races in the original PHB or DMG, but it should be expressly stated that they're optional.
So basically, you don't even want fantastic races in your campaign settings, EVEN IF THE PLAYERS CAN'T USE THEM. That's crossed the line into pure reactionary. One old-world, generic tolkien setting is fine. Make it Greyhawk.
Let the other worlds be fantastic. Certainly Forgotten Realms has no shortage of fantastic high-fantasy races and tropes. Eberron has always run like that. Dark Sun has all sorts of things unleashed by the Wizards (and a population that's heavily psionic to boot). Planescape was the original 'strange and unusual worlds' setting.
Special rules for Greyhawk: Greyhawk is boring.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 26, 2012 - 1:26AM
#172
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Date Joined:
Aug 18, 2006
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And so forth-- it didn't matter if it didn't belong, every single setting published in 4E was required to include every single race from all the PHBs as races with no issues dealing with the others, who were universally beloved and accepted, who were never antagonistic and were so damn common and normal, one could hardly run through any random street without coming across one and would never think twice about that.
All three published settings, or four if you include the Nentir Vale. Although I am interested to see where they put gnomes and half-orcs into Dark Sun, for example. I don't remember them being in my campaign guide.
These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth's foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling,
And took their wages, and are dead.
Playing: Mongoose Traveller
GMing: Barbarians of Lemuria
Planning: Reclaiming Neverwinter, a 4e D&D campaign
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8 months ago ::
Oct 26, 2012 - 3:36AM
#173
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Date Joined:
Apr 15, 2001
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Gnomes did exist sorta in the original Dark Sun- as undead. They were all exterminated. DS came out about the same time as things like Captain Planet and the genocide in the Balkens which kinda influenced it. Ecological destruction and genocide as strong themes in the world with canabalistic halflings was awesome.
Reducing a character to a list of dice rolls and modifiers is not role playing*
*pg 30, AD&D 2nd Ed DMG, 1989.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 26, 2012 - 6:34AM
#174
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2006
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About gnomes from dark sun I suspect some gnomes survived (hidding in the underground) but they become the other race, the hej-kin   It is only my hypothesis
"Say me what you're showing off for, and I'll say you what you lack!" (Spanish saying)
Book 13 Anaclet 23
Confucius said: "The Superior Man is in harmony but does not follow the crowd. The inferior man follows the crowd, but is not in harmony"
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8 months ago ::
Oct 26, 2012 - 10:51AM
#175
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Date Joined:
Oct 25, 2010
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So basically, you don't even want fantastic races in your campaign settings, EVEN IF THE PLAYERS CAN'T USE THEM. That's crossed the line into pure reactionary. One old-world, generic tolkien setting is fine. Make it Greyhawk.
I want the choice of what to include. Just because a beholder exists in the monster manual doesn't imply that it necessarily exists in my world. Every monster is inherently optional.
Let the other worlds be fantastic. Certainly Forgotten Realms has no shortage of fantastic high-fantasy races and tropes. Eberron has always run like that. Dark Sun has all sorts of things unleashed by the Wizards (and a population that's heavily psionic to boot). Planescape was the original 'strange and unusual worlds' setting.
Planescape is a definite exception and should allow anything, becasue it's entire identity is a city packed with wierd ass races.
Forgotten Realms may well be fantastic, but I don't like the idea that obscure races somehow become common, and stuff you'd never heard of doing anything in the lore (and there's tons of FR lore), suddenly become well known to people. I hate the expected retcon aspect. I want it to be my choice what races exist in the world, I dont' want PCs coming in and expecting dragonborn just because someone decided to promote them to base race material. Look now if you're running 4E realms, fine add dragonborn, but a lot of people prefer the old realms that was before Dragonborn got airdropped into the setting.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind having fantastic races if they fit the world, but they should really be either optional stuff in the PHB/DMG or just defined in the campaign setting itself. Warforged and Shifters are fine in Eberron, because they have backstory in that world, but I don't want them walking around every world or expect other worlds to retcon them in.
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