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

[Micah Sweet]

Centaur have been playable since Basic, they pre-date Complete Book of Humanoids. They weren't even the craziest thing in that book, Tall Tales of the Wee Folk had Pooka who had selective invisibility

If something has been playable for 35 years and, outside of D&D, is known in the fantasy ecospace as a common thing, it isn't a monster. Centaur aren't monsters or exotic creatures, they're just people, and this is a well running thing in fantasy. Like, it deserves being dunked on for all sorts of reasons, but when the absolute powerhouse that is Harry Potter has them around as just people, centaur are.... Just that. This is a massive, well running fantasy tradition. People will absolutely expect them to be playable, there's nothing about a centaur that makes someone go 'Yeah I see why that isn't playable'

5E's only introduction of new races are the MTG options, and two from Spelljammer, the Plasmoid and the Autognome. Everything else is a legacy race that was playable in 2E, and the two Spelljammer ones were introduced back then, just one was a mindless robot and the other had civilisations and stuff, just wasn't playable


I mean, I hate to crush your hopes and dreams, but the icebreaker HMS Baldurs Gate 3 just smashed right through 'em and cemented both types of Gith as a D&D mainstay for the next few decades.

Just want to remind you that your opinion on this or any other issue is no more or less valid and "true" than @Lanefan 's or anybody else's.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Size I would guess. Do tiefling players care about their horns in any way beyond appearance? I've never played one.

Well, as some people pointed out, appearance should be more than cosmetics and should have mechanics attached to them. I think the description of tiefling lets you choose to have horns. Lore-wise, they reveal a character’s infernal heritage so the appearance would play a role in some scenes.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

History, tradition, and the fact Tiefling horns are not agreed upon at all as a standard.

Its much more accepted in my view, that Tiefling would have some magical hook, something associated with their heritage like the Magic that is innately expressed.

Tiefling is just an example. I’m curious where the line is.

 

[Scribe]

Tiefling is just an example. I’m curious where the line is.

"I know it when I see it." lol

I mean its subjective right? When you have people honestly tell you that Dwarves should be able to be as agile as Elves, that Halflings should be able to be as strong as Goliath, its all up to the individual.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I mean, whats the DC for a Centaur to climb a rope?

Under OP's hypothetical: 5.

Sticky hooves a la My Little Pony is my best narrative explanation, though.

Edit to add: in 5e, RAW, same as anyone else, but they need to spend a long time to do it: they climb at 1/5th speed, not 1/2, so climbing a 20' rope would require 100' of movement - at least two whole turns (unless you're a monk or something.)

 

[Maxperson]

Who's to say a Tiefling even has horns?

#RealTieflingisPre4e.

Pre3e

 

[Corinnguard]

Well, as some people pointed out, appearance should be more than cosmetics and should have mechanics attached to them. I think the description of tiefling lets you choose to have horns. Lore-wise, they reveal a character’s infernal heritage so the appearance would play a role in some scenes.

Especially now that 2024 D&D allows you to play as one of three Tiefling lineages- Infernal, Abyssal and Cthonic. So, in terms of lore, you can now role-play a Tiefling who is the descendant of a devil, demon or daemon (I prefer daemon over yugoloth ). The three D's. As for the mechanics, each lineage comes with different resistance types and spell-like abilities to further set them apart.

I am hoping that the 2024 Aasimar will get the same treatment as their Tiefling counterparts.

 

[Voadam]

Very carefully!

Seriously though, has never been a rule about it being more tricky for them in any of their stat blocks

It often does not get to that level of specificity but it gets mentioned that centaurs have difficulty in underground settings when you get PC stats and a decent discussion of them as a race. Specifics have often been left for a DM ruling.

Basic D&D's PC 1 Creature Crucible Tall Tales of the Wee Folk:

2e Complete Book of Humanoids under Special Disadvantages:

In 3.0 Savage Species does not mention it in their column of PC class stats or the two paragraphs of racial discussion.

In 3.5 the Monster Manual does not mention it either in their centaurs as PCs section of their stat block.

My understanding is that in 5e, as referenced in a post above, when they get PC stats (in Theros?) they are made medium and can climb but have penalties when doing so. There was a long thread about it at the time. This seems to allow centaurs to act in typical adventures similar to other PCs in ways that purely narratively you might not expect them to be able to while still having a little mechanical impact.

 

[Voadam]

For Minotaurs the horn stuff has varied in D&D.

I played a Minotaur fighter out of the 1e Dragonlance Adventures book and they have horns but no horn attack. It still felt like playing a Dragonlance Minotaur to me.

In the 3.5 Dragonlance Campaign Setting they get a natural attack with their horns as a PC race.

 

[Corinnguard]

For Minotaurs the horn stuff has varied in D&D.

I played a Minotaur fighter out of the 1e Dragonlance Adventures book and they have horns but no horn attack. It still felt like playing a Dragonlance Minotaur to me.

In the 3.5 Dragonlance Campaign Setting they get a natural attack with their horns as a PC race.

Minotaur | Level Up

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