Seperating racial and societal traits

[lordmarcoos]

So, I wanted to homebrew something creative for the weekend campaign im planning, and I thought a neat mechanic would be to seperate PHB (and Eberron) listed traits of races as either Societally (just taught to them by their people), or Racially (genetically hardwired into them) based, and then to make it so instead of simply choosing a race, you'd choose a race, and then a society, and a background trait I'm stealing from Iron Heroes.

The society would determine which set of societal benefits you'd receive, on the notion that If a gnome or a dwarf happened to be adopted by an elvish family, they'd probably be using archery. But what about a Dwarven eye for stonework? is that an innately magical talent, or simply the common practice of all young dwarves working in the mines for some portion of their lives, and learn this stuff? What about Darkvision? Better eyes, or just a lifetime of living underground (I'm pretty solidly on the side of genetic for dark and light vision, but I guess you could argue against it.)?

I was looking on for some help on the racial traits that seem to blur the lines between genetic and trained, and if you have an argument that might go against the grain, or some points to bring up, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

[jamroar]

So, I wanted to homebrew something creative for the weekend campaign im planning, and I thought a neat mechanic would be to seperate PHB (and Eberron) listed traits of races as either Societally (just taught to them by their people), or Racially (genetically hardwired into them) based, and then to make it so instead of simply choosing a race, you'd choose a race, and then a society, and a background trait I'm stealing from Iron Heroes.

The society would determine which set of societal benefits you'd receive, on the notion that If a gnome or a dwarf happened to be adopted by an elvish family, they'd probably be using archery. But what about a Dwarven eye for stonework? is that an innately magical talent, or simply the common practice of all young dwarves working in the mines for some portion of their lives, and learn this stuff? What about Darkvision? Better eyes, or just a lifetime of living underground (I'm pretty solidly on the side of genetic for dark and light vision, but I guess you could argue against it.)?

I was looking on for some help on the racial traits that seem to blur the lines between genetic and trained, and if you have an argument that might go against the grain, or some points to bring up, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

How about a houseruled 1st level-only background feat Fostered Among (Race)
that
* Switches favored class to that of the foster race.
* Gain the bonus Weapon Proficiencies if any. (basically, Elf)
* Switches automatic languages to that of foster race.
* Allows swapping of racial bonuses from either race on a one to one basis, if any. (With background justification from the player)

Racial stat bonuses and Vision are genetic and should remain the same as the real race.

[Toliudar]

Tough one, because you want to give some benefit to any given race's background, and maintain a bit of balance. How about this (whenever a trait normally associated with a race isn't mentioned, assume I meant it to be genetically linked to that race):

Humans:
Bonus skill point at each level

Dwarves:
Stonecunning
Weapon Familiarity
Attack bonus versus orcs and goblinoids
Dodge bonus versus giant types
Appraise and Craft Bonuses
Language bonus: Dwarven
Favoured Class: fighter

Elves:
Weapon Proficiency
Racial Skill bonuses
Ability to make a search check automatically to detect secret doors
Bonus language: Elven
Favoured Class: Wizard

Gnomes:
Weapon Familiarity
+1 DC for illusions cast
Attack and dodge bonuses vs races
Bonuses to listen & craft checks
Bonus Language: Gnome
Favoured Class: Bard

Half Elves:
Bonuses to listen, search, spot, diplomacy and gather info checks
Bonus Language: Elven
Favoured Class: Any

Half Orcs:
Orc Blood
Weapon Familiarity - Orc Double Axe
Bonus Language: Orc
Favoured Class: Barbarian

Halflings:
Skill bonuses - climb, jump, listen and move silently
+2 morale bonus vs. fear
Attack bonus with thrown weapons and slings
Bonus Language: Halfling
Favoured class: Rogue.


Wow, if anything ever proved that half orcs suck, it's this list.

Depending on your players, you may run into some difficulties with people creating weird backgrounds just to optimize (a dwarf or elf raised by humans, or a half orc raised by...well, anyone...will be better than the regular class, and some class combinations with a race and background will only allow further optimization.

[Beren One-Hand]

I like this idea, but there is another thing to consider. The half-breeds don't usually have a society - they're usually a member of one or the other. I've seen very few (I can't recall any at the moment) settings where the half-breeds have their own society.

[Krrth]

You could always check out Fantasy Hero for ideas. They break it down to racial and cultural. It's a different game, but mighthelp anyways...

[Matthew]

Hard to say, really. Most stuff that can be gained as Feats is likely learned (such as Weapon Proficiencies and Weapon Familiarity), whilst others must be innate (such as Elves' +2 Observe, Listen and Search). Dwarves' familiarity with stone, I'm going to go out on a limb and say innate.