What's with WotC avoiding Class bloat but not Race bloat?

[KorvinStarmast]

Further reading is hinting at WotC multiplying distances by 10 or so “to make it feel more epic.” Though even then 10k warforged is a small number with how frequently I was seeing them offed in various adventures.

When it comes to PC accessible species in a cosmopolitan setting, what bracket do people expect to see for minimum population? 10k, 100k, 1M?

For me 10k is sufficient given that they were purpose built for war and are trying to find their way, or how they fit in, during the 'before the next war' period. They would, it seems to me, be logically disproportionately represented as PCs (given their origins) as compared to all other races.

[Mastikator]

So what would you give them at level 10 to make up for scrapping the feature that's specifically about letting them be good / efficient at crafting?

Nothing, and it wouldn't be the first time a ribbon feature of a class or race is not used ever in a game. Several skills and tool proficiencies suffer the same fate.

Most tools arguably.

The artificer is plenty strong at level 10 without ever touching the DMG's or Xanathar's optional rules for crafting.

[Telwar]

For me 10k is sufficient given that they were purpose built for war and are trying to find their way, or how they fit in, during the 'before the next war' period. They would, it seems to me, be logically disproportionately represented as PCs (given their origins) as compared to all other races.

I'd assume far more were produced, and they had high casualties, since they were often shock troops. ~10k surviving seems reasonable, but obviously that can be adjusted up or down as needed.

[Psyren]

Nothing, and it wouldn't be the first time a ribbon feature of a class or race is not used ever in a game. Several skills and tool proficiencies suffer the same fate.

Most tools arguably.

The artificer is plenty strong at level 10 without ever touching the DMG's or Xanathar's optional rules for crafting.

Indeed.

Eberron is conscious of the particulars that warforged can demand of a setting and it addresses them.

There is no reason that Warforged in another setting have to be "Warforged." You can keep the mechanics but alter their origin and name, much like Ravenloft did with Caliban (RL half-orcs) or how Dragonlance eventually altered its Draconians to be Dragonborn. All it takes is a modicum of creativity and flexibility.

Further reading is hinting at WotC multiplying distances by 10 or so “to make it feel more epic.” Though even then 10k warforged is a small number with how frequently I was seeing them offed in various adventures.

When it comes to PC accessible species in a cosmopolitan setting, what bracket do people expect to see for minimum population? 10k, 100k, 1M?

Just a reminder that you're talking about settings where myriad near-omnipotent entities take a vested interest in the continued existence of certain species, including tiny enclaves of them; where several of those species don't have anything approaching traditional human procreation or gestation; and where simply leaving your village to go to the next one over carries a high percentage of death by owlbear or displacer beast or gibbering mouther etc. In other words, typical population numbers (including minimum viable ones) kinda go out the window.

[Dr. Murgunstrum]

There is no reason that Warforged in another setting have to be "Warforged." You can keep the mechanics but alter their origin and name, much like Ravenloft did with Caliban (RL half-orcs) or how Dragonlance eventually altered its Draconians to be Dragonborn. All it takes is a modicum of creativity and flexibility.

Absolutely. The mechanics of Warforged are very flexible, so their conceit in the setting need not be the same.

Indeed, two different Warforged or even colonies of warforged, in the same setting can have entirely different conceits without burdening it.

Just a reminder that you're talking about settings where myriad near-omnipotent entities take a vested interest in the continued existence of certain species, including tiny enclaves of them; where several of those species don't have anything approaching traditional human procreation or gestation; and where simply leaving your village to go to the next one over carries a high percentage of death by owlbear or displacer beast or gibbering mouther etc. In other words, typical population numbers (including minimum viable ones) kinda go out the window.

Quite. The idea that there is a “serious” set of demographics and a “silly” set in these settings is nonsensical: the demographics don’t demand a real world explanation when disease and hunger have magical remedies, life spans and life cycles are alien and there are mystical beings beyond mortal comprehension with agency in them.

To reject creationism in a magical setting as silly is to reject the game itself.

One might have a homebrew setting that rejects creationism, but that’s a pretty steep deviation from the norm.