D&D (2024) How to import "race" flavor into D&D 2024 inclusively

[Vendral]

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View attachment 344796
proportions of Krusk's axe were stupid more than 20 years ago and they are stupid now.

No matter how strong you are, you cannot be effective in battle with that lump of iron on a stick.

that is an executioner axe at best or just an ugly "wall-hanger" at worst.

Or it is a fantasy world and just a cool weapon that is efficient in that context.

 

[Yaarel]

I never said that culture would be handing out ASI’s,
skills, proficiencies and situational traits, maybe even a few spells? Yes, but not ASI.

So you mean, pick their culture and background from different categories? Like what I’ve been saying all along?

Right, but which skills do EVERY member of the culture have, the Intelligence skills? Because this ethnicity is more intelligent than the other ethnicities?

Stereotyping an entire culture for EVERY member always goes wrong. It is impossible to avoid racist implications.

And it isnt just what the stereotype says, it is also what the stereotype fails to mention. The generalization obscures what is actually happening within a culture.

Sweeping generalizations for every member of a culture, are unrealistic anyway. It isnt what a culture is, nor how a culture works.

Each culture is inherently diverse. Multiple conflictive trends are going on at the same time.

The way to represent a verisimilitudinous culture is to make it out of the diverse background institutions that construct it.

The culture adapts and evolves by adding new trending background traditions and retiring unused, archaic and obsolete, background traditions.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Right, but which skills do EVERY member of the culture have, the Intelligence skills? Because this ethnicity is more intelligent than the other ethnicities?

Stereotyping an entire culture for EVERY member always goes wrong. It is impossible to avoid racist implications.

And it isnt just what the stereotype says, it is also what the stereotype fails to mention. The generalization obscures what is actually happening within a culture.

Sweeping generalizations for every member of a culture, are unrealistic anyway. It isnt what a culture is, nor how a culture works.

Each culture is inherently diverse. Multiple conflictive trends are going on at the same time.

The way to represent a verisimilitudinous culture is to make it out of the diverse background institutions that construct it.

The culture adapts and evolves by adding new trending background traditions and retiring unused, archaic and obsolete, background traditions.

why would cultures be limited to exclusively INT skills? and i don't know how you stereotype a species into only one thing when you have as many cultures for a species as there are currently subraces, the point of this isn't as you seem to be interpreting it as 'there's only one way to be a dwarf, or an elf or gnome, they're all identical masses',

and isn't sticking culture and background into one thing like you suggest more restrictive and stereotyping?

 

[Yaarel]

why would cultures be limited to exclusively INT skills? and i don't know how you stereotype a species into only one thing when you have as many cultures for a species as there are currently subraces, the point of this isn't as you seem to be interpreting it as 'there's only one way to be a dwarf, or an elf or gnome, they're all identical masses',

Hypothetical example.

The Greekesque culture gets the History, Investigation, and various psionic stuff, because it is the Intelligence culture.

The Norsesque culture gets Survival, Navigator Toolset, and Intimidation, because it is the stupid sloppy brute culture.

... Nordic peoples actually file lawsuits for defamation.


To make sweeping generalizations can never go well.

Never.

and isn't sticking culture and background into one thing like you suggest more restrictive and stereotyping?

Backgrounds avoid racist stereotypes, because they inherently include many different kinds of backgrounds, to cover an unlimited number of aspects of a culture.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Hypothetical example.

The Greekesque culture gets the History, Investigation, and various psionic stuff, because it is the Intelligence culture.

The Norsesque culture gets Survival, Navigator Toolset, and Intimidation, because it is the stupid sloppy brute culture.

... Nordic peoples actually file lawsuits for defamation.


To make sweeping generalizations can never go well.

Never.

alternately
all elf cultures get elvish language, 1 wizard cantrip and leatherworkers tools.
studious elf culture 1 gets history and investigation, caligrapher's tools proficiency and innate comprehend language.
creative elf culture 2 gets performance, 2 artisan's tools or musical instrument proficiencies, innate disguse self and advantage on INT checks to recall information about art.
hunter elf culture 3 gets stealth or survival, herbalism or poisoner's kit proficiency and shortbow/longbow proficiency.
magical elf culture 4 gets arcana or religion, 2 wizard cantrips and innate detect magic.
ambassador elf culture 5 gets persuasion, 2 languages known, and navigator's or cartographer's tools proficiency

bit hard to see how i'm making sweeping generalisation about all elves being identical when there's at least 5 different cultures for them.

 

[Yaarel]

alternately
studious elf culture 1 gets history and investigation, caligrapher's tools proficiency and innate comprehend language.
creative elf culture 2 gets performance, 2 artisan's tools or musical instrument proficiencies, innate disguse self and advantage on INT checks to recall information about art.
hunter elf culture 3 gets stealth or survival, herbalism or poisoner's kit proficiency and shortbow/longbow proficiency.
magical elf culture 4 gets arcana or religion, 2 wizard cantrips and innate detect magic.
ambassador elf culture 5 gets persuasion, 2 languages known, and navigator's or cartographer's tools proficiency

bit hard to see how i'm making sweeping generalisation about all elves being identical when there's at least 5 different cultures for them.

A culture where EVERY member is "studious"?

And how does one flavor it? With Greek philosophers and librarians? With British Universities and Industrial Revolution? French Enlightenment? Imperialism?

And how does one the flavor the socalled "Hunter" culture? Are they the American Indigenesque? They are too busy in the woods to do "book learning"?

All of this is reallife racism.


Sweeping generalizations of EVERY member of an entire complex culture, is factually wrong, and inevitably ethically problematic.


Plus I would be annoyed when − predictably − the "magical" culture isnt Norsesque, because the historical cultures during the Viking Period are animistic, psychic, with an intensely magical worldview.

 

[Incenjucar]

The only places where I could see culture showing up on a character sheet are things like equipment and spell lists, and that's going to be more about availability. A place without bats isn't going to be using bat guano magic as freely, etc.

 

[CreamCloud0]

A culture where EVERY member is "studious"?

no, a culture that values being studious, as well as creativity and hunting and magic and cultural exchange, where a not-insignificant faction of it decicates itself to study and the other things.

And how does one flavor it? With Greek philosophers and librarians? With British Universities and Industrial Revolution? French Enlightenment? Imperialism?

yarrel, i'm not going to write out the nuances of five whole unique cultures just to indulge your pedantry for fictional cultures in an ENWorld thread, if it got implemented obviously there would be more details but that's WotC's job.

And how does one the flavor the socalled "Hunter" culture? Are they the American Indigenesque? They are too busy in the woods to do "book learning"?

why are you assuming they don't have booklearning? just because they are skilled hunters? their culture is merely a part of a larger whole, there's nothing stopping the hunter culture elf from being a wizard or also having the sage or librarian background.

 

[Incenjucar]

Cultures generally value all the things, but approach them in different ways.

 

[Yaarel]

no, a culture that values being studious, as well as creativity and hunting and magic and cultural exchange, where a not-insignificant faction of it decicates itself to study and the other things.

So, not everyone is studious.

But the studious Background enjoys some "prominence" within the culture. Not everyone values academia, but perhaps a majority or a significant minority do?

In other words, there is zero benefit for belonging to a culture where academics is prestigious.

But there are benefits for individuals who take an academic Background − who are part of the academic institution.