Was recently going over a new character when I had a player say that race doesn't really matter. Both the DM and I said that it does but he was adamant that except for flavor, it's nothing. We tried to explain that racial bonuses help immensely but he seems to think not. Anyone care to weigh in?
If the person is choosing to believe that bonuses and feats are just "flavor," then there's really no reasoning with the person.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I get what he's saying, or I think I do. Once I choose the race/class combo I want, I'm done. I'm not min/maxing for anything. I've had people try and convince me, but no. A concept is in my head, and nothing is stopping me from it.
That being said, I assume that might be what he's referring to. If not, I got nothing.
Tell him he should be happy they don't matter. Back in 1e Most non-human races couldn't be higher than lvl 9 in most classes. The only class that had no level limit was Thief. Only Humans could have unlimited levels. Some races couldn't even be certain classes.
I get what he's saying, or I think I do. Once I choose the race/class combo I want, I'm done. I'm not min/maxing for anything. I've had people try and convince me, but no. A concept is in my head, and nothing is stopping me from it.
That being said, I assume that might be what he's referring to. If not, I got nothing.
I think that's what it was, he was just doing a really bad explanation
If he wants "race" to matter more, show him Pathfinder 2e where you get to choose new Ancestry feats as you level up. Perhaps houserule something like that for 5e?
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"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Doesn't matter is probably not the right term. Not as important as it is in other systems is probably the most accurate. Since most races do not give out negative stat bonuses it's not a big hindrance if your race doesn't give your primary stat a boost. where as in 3.X having a negative say dwarf sorcerers was bad mechanically, do able but a thing to overcome.
Most race/class combos, even ones that don't synergize (orc wizard, gnome barb, etc), will still result in a playable character. It might not be the *best* that character could be, but if you play anything other than a straight up min/maxing dungeon grind, you shouldn't really notice.
If there's a race that you really want to play as, and a class you really want to play, do it.
Even if there is a noticeable difference, hey, you might find that that extra limitation pushes you to play more creatively. That can be fun.
Whether Race matters is going to depend on multiple factors: but, if ultimately you don't care about being optimal and have average stats (like from using Point Buy) or better then: nope it doesn't matter. But if you want to ensure some optimal abilities or such as then yes it does: it is very useful to have a race that either boosts your main stats or can bring up your lower stats and even them out. The racial abilities can be very useful and can synergise really well with certain builds.
If you get fun out of making optimal builds specifically built for certain things like melee, like spellcaster, for nova/burst damage or for support or for stealth... Then choosing a race is important.
If you want to focus more on RP and don't care about being mechanically suited for a specific build then go with whatever you think would be fun to RP as.
Really the question you should ask is less "is it important?" and more "will it be fun for me?"
Different people play characters differently and find different things fun. So, nobody can answer for you how important it is: that's entirely up to you and what you find fun.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Yeah he's missing a lot. I mean sure sometimes you just wanna play a certain character concept and realize it's no ideal, but to say it doesn't matter is just well not paying attention to the game at all. Something like an Elf fighter trying to max out his strength is always gonna be an ASI bump behind something like an Orc fighter. He might nab a feat and you never see one because of it. or if not playing with feats (BOOOO) he's gonna be bumping his con or dex or something when your not.
Some abilties work really well with other classes as well, for instance in our current campaign I'm playing an Eladrin Paladin, ok sure my stats aren't awesome because my racial is bonus is to dex which is still helpful but know what else has really helped? Misty stepping up into peoples faces and smiting the ever-loving crap outta them. I don't think I'd get as much mileage out of a high elf's +1 int and a cantrip.
Your DM may want to ask if he's secretly playing a Changling, and just not sure how to apply the racial bonuses while concealing the fact from the party and NPCs that he's actually a Changeling. There are reasons to not tell party members, but it would be truly bizarre for the DM to not know that.
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Was recently going over a new character when I had a player say that race doesn't really matter. Both the DM and I said that it does but he was adamant that except for flavor, it's nothing. We tried to explain that racial bonuses help immensely but he seems to think not. Anyone care to weigh in?
Compare an aarakocra and a tortle and ask them if it's just flavor.
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If the person is choosing to believe that bonuses and feats are just "flavor," then there's really no reasoning with the person.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I get what he's saying, or I think I do. Once I choose the race/class combo I want, I'm done. I'm not min/maxing for anything. I've had people try and convince me, but no. A concept is in my head, and nothing is stopping me from it.
That being said, I assume that might be what he's referring to. If not, I got nothing.
In addition to race modifiers and feats, I've had things like dark vision and racial resistances make very real differences in some of my games.
Tell him he should be happy they don't matter. Back in 1e Most non-human races couldn't be higher than lvl 9 in most classes. The only class that had no level limit was Thief. Only Humans could have unlimited levels. Some races couldn't even be certain classes.
I loved 1e but some stuff was frustrating.
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I think that's what it was, he was just doing a really bad explanation
If he wants "race" to matter more, show him Pathfinder 2e where you get to choose new Ancestry feats as you level up. Perhaps houserule something like that for 5e?
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Doesn't matter is probably not the right term. Not as important as it is in other systems is probably the most accurate. Since most races do not give out negative stat bonuses it's not a big hindrance if your race doesn't give your primary stat a boost. where as in 3.X having a negative say dwarf sorcerers was bad mechanically, do able but a thing to overcome.
Most race/class combos, even ones that don't synergize (orc wizard, gnome barb, etc), will still result in a playable character. It might not be the *best* that character could be, but if you play anything other than a straight up min/maxing dungeon grind, you shouldn't really notice.
If there's a race that you really want to play as, and a class you really want to play, do it.
Even if there is a noticeable difference, hey, you might find that that extra limitation pushes you to play more creatively. That can be fun.
Whether Race matters is going to depend on multiple factors: but, if ultimately you don't care about being optimal and have average stats (like from using Point Buy) or better then: nope it doesn't matter. But if you want to ensure some optimal abilities or such as then yes it does: it is very useful to have a race that either boosts your main stats or can bring up your lower stats and even them out. The racial abilities can be very useful and can synergise really well with certain builds.
If you get fun out of making optimal builds specifically built for certain things like melee, like spellcaster, for nova/burst damage or for support or for stealth... Then choosing a race is important.
If you want to focus more on RP and don't care about being mechanically suited for a specific build then go with whatever you think would be fun to RP as.
Really the question you should ask is less "is it important?" and more "will it be fun for me?"
Different people play characters differently and find different things fun. So, nobody can answer for you how important it is: that's entirely up to you and what you find fun.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
There was also that article about ways to homebrew separating ability increases from races: https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/563-reimagining-racial-ability-scores
Yeah he's missing a lot. I mean sure sometimes you just wanna play a certain character concept and realize it's no ideal, but to say it doesn't matter is just well not paying attention to the game at all. Something like an Elf fighter trying to max out his strength is always gonna be an ASI bump behind something like an Orc fighter. He might nab a feat and you never see one because of it. or if not playing with feats (BOOOO) he's gonna be bumping his con or dex or something when your not.
Some abilties work really well with other classes as well, for instance in our current campaign I'm playing an Eladrin Paladin, ok sure my stats aren't awesome because my racial is bonus is to dex which is still helpful but know what else has really helped? Misty stepping up into peoples faces and smiting the ever-loving crap outta them. I don't think I'd get as much mileage out of a high elf's +1 int and a cantrip.
Your DM may want to ask if he's secretly playing a Changling, and just not sure how to apply the racial bonuses while concealing the fact from the party and NPCs that he's actually a Changeling. There are reasons to not tell party members, but it would be truly bizarre for the DM to not know that.