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

[Micah Sweet]

Well, the thing isn't "not different" it is "without bonus or penalty." A centaur may have to climbs stairs very differently than a 2' tall gnome, but as long as they both do so without any sort of penalty it is still just cosmetic.

So you were just talking about numbers in your OP?

 

[KYRON45]

Trition's 'amphibious' trait states 'you can breathe air and water' no numbers whatsoever there, but still a mechanic.

I feel like people are engaging in several arguments at once.

The OP asks......if all races are 100% the same with no difference between them; how does that affect your choice of race?

Being able to breath under water vs. not being able to breath underwater is not "all things being equal.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I feel like people are engaging in several arguments at once.

The OP asks......if all races are 100% the same with no difference between them; how does that affect your choice of race?

Being able to breath under water vs. not being able to breath underwater is not "all things being equal.

Interesting example. A heritage that should be able to breathe underwater would make no sense without racial mechanics.

 

[Reynard]

So you were just talking about numbers in your OP?

No. I was talking about game mechanics differences. You are the one who needs mechanics in order to have verisimilitude.

 

[KYRON45]

Interesting example. A heritage that should be able to breathe underwater would make no sense without racial mechanics.

This is correct. But that is not the OPs original question.
Re-interpreting the question is fine; but it then becomes another question.

The OP posits the following: No race is different from any other race in any way. Now....pick a race.

 

[Reynard]

This is correct. But that is not the OPs original question.
Re-interpreting the question is fine; but it then becomes another question.

The OP posits the following: No race is different from any other race in any way. Now....pick a race.

Not precisely. We are still assuming lore and roleplaying and setting differences (and cosmetic differences, of course). There are just no mechanical differences.

 

[CreamCloud0]

I feel like people are engaging in several arguments at once.

yes, that is what happens, the conversation branches off from the original topic into to other topics,

The OP asks......if all races are 100% the same with no difference between them; how does that affect your choice of race?

but the question WE have been asking is if narrative of a species can effect gameplay at what point does that 'narrative' influence things enough to become 'mechanic'?

Being able to breath under water vs. not being able to breath underwater is not "all things being equal.

that's the point, the narrative of the triton is that they're a fishman who lives underwater, the mechanics say standard creatures cannot breathe underwater, so if no species mechanics exist how do you square that circle? other than with a fishman who can drown.

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is correct. But that is not the OPs original question.
Re-interpreting the question is fine; but it then becomes another question.

The OP posits the following: No race is different from any other race in any way. Now....pick a race.

I'm still going with human. If every race is the same, they might as well be human with a particular culture. Forest humans with bows. Mountain humans who like to make stuff. Pastoral humans who like peace, comfort, and six meals a day (actually, I think I'm that kind of human).

 

[Reynard]

that's the point, the narrative of the triton is that they're a fishman who lives underwater, the mechanics say standard creatures cannot breathe underwater, so if no species mechanics exist how do you square that circle? other than with a fishman who can drown.

And just to muddy the waters, what if the campaign NEVER involves swimming or underwater action?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Not precisely. We are still assuming lore and roleplaying and setting differences (and cosmetic differences, of course). There are just no mechanical differences.

Define what you mean by mechanics then please. Do humans get any?