Li Shenron
Legend
Lots of talking about playable character races in the last year or two... what are your preferences regarding the following approaches? (You can specify whether you are answering from a player's or DM's point of view)
1) Few or plenty?
Do you prefer having a small bunch of races available to PCs, such as the PHB set or a cherry-picked group of favourites? Or do you think a large array available is better? Or do you even think the sky's the limit and would like to have as many as you can find for the edition you're currently playing?
2) Common or variable?
Do you prefer a more monolithic approach on racial mechanics i.e. all PCs of the same race X or subrace Y must use the same stats, or do you like having mechanical variants for each race and/or subrace (without narrating them as a different group)?
3) Native or outsiders?
Do you want playable races strictly from the fantasy setting you're adventuring in, or do you consent to PCs of a race that normally doesn't belong to it? This is a more nuanced question... you can make a distinction between the case of a race that belongs to the setting but not the world (like are you ok with PC races from the elemental or the outer planes) and the case of a race that belongs to a different setting entirely (like a Forgotten Realms race in Dark Sun) or even a different genre altogether (like a Star Wars or DCU race).
Bonus question (kind of a combination of questions 2 and 3): how do you feel about using different versions of a race from different settings? Examples could be allowing Zendikar elves or Ravnica goblins (assuming you already have native elves or goblins), would you be ok with allowing the mechanical variant (i.e. different stats and abilities) from another setting? If you would allow the mechanic, would you disallow, allow or even require the narrative that the race comes from another world?
1) Few or plenty?
Do you prefer having a small bunch of races available to PCs, such as the PHB set or a cherry-picked group of favourites? Or do you think a large array available is better? Or do you even think the sky's the limit and would like to have as many as you can find for the edition you're currently playing?
2) Common or variable?
Do you prefer a more monolithic approach on racial mechanics i.e. all PCs of the same race X or subrace Y must use the same stats, or do you like having mechanical variants for each race and/or subrace (without narrating them as a different group)?
3) Native or outsiders?
Do you want playable races strictly from the fantasy setting you're adventuring in, or do you consent to PCs of a race that normally doesn't belong to it? This is a more nuanced question... you can make a distinction between the case of a race that belongs to the setting but not the world (like are you ok with PC races from the elemental or the outer planes) and the case of a race that belongs to a different setting entirely (like a Forgotten Realms race in Dark Sun) or even a different genre altogether (like a Star Wars or DCU race).
Bonus question (kind of a combination of questions 2 and 3): how do you feel about using different versions of a race from different settings? Examples could be allowing Zendikar elves or Ravnica goblins (assuming you already have native elves or goblins), would you be ok with allowing the mechanical variant (i.e. different stats and abilities) from another setting? If you would allow the mechanic, would you disallow, allow or even require the narrative that the race comes from another world?