Race-as-Class vs Race-and-Class, and the Solution

Race-as-class vs race-and-class is a long-standing debate that is unlikely to go away any time soon. Most people have a preference, and a reasoning for their preference. And the truth is, there is no wrong way to do it.

A common compromise is to simply limit the classes that certain races can use, but that is a method I am not fond of, because it implies that the restricted race/class combos don’t exist in the game world, and players could feel a certain way if they encounter NPCs with these combos.

I spent literal weeks thinking about the best way to do character building in the game I am making (and will hopefully kickstart soon), and came up with a solution that feels satisfying to me, and will hopefully contain the right compromises for people who fall on either side of the debate.

Pros and Cons of Race-as-Class

Pros

• Strictly defined roles for each class

• In most Race-as-Class systems, the non-human races are a mixture of multiple classes, allowing a pseudo-multiclass

• Artificially creates a humano-centric worldview because most classes are human

Cons

• Races become tied to one specific archetype

• Having to explain how the Drawven Cleric NPC can exist if there isn’t any way to create one

• Some players may feel restricted by their options

Pros and Cons of Race-and-Class

Pros

• Interesting race/class combinations that allow unique roleplaying opportunities

• More freedom for players

• Opportunity for unique backgrounds

Cons

• Unrealistic race and class combinations, which are hard to explain in the fiction

• Opens the window for min-maxing

• In many settings, a party comprised entirely of demi-humans is unusual

How Do We Balance Both Sides? My Solution…

Both sides have merit, and they are both completely valid ways to play. My solution to the problem involves allowing freedom to choose both race and class, while imposing limitations on certain ability scores for each race, as well as each class.

My system results in more humans on average, and encourages certain sets of ability scores to be paired with certain races and classes (i.e. elves naturally have high INT, and Wizards require a high INT). This doesn’t actually make it impossible to play certain classes as certain races, but uses to ability score to make it make sense.

Races

Human: No restrictions whatsoever

• Humans are the baseline race, and have no restrictions

Dwarves: Minimum CON: 10, Minimum STR: 11

• Dwarves are naturally tough and strong, it wouldn’t make sense for a dwarf to ever be weaker than the average human.

Elves: Minimum INT: 11, Maximum STR: 16

• Elves are naturally intelligent, and due to their build, they simply cannot be stronger than the strongest humans and elves

Halflings: Minimum DEX: 11, Maximum STR: 13

• Halflings are naturally nimble due to their small size, and have no hope of being much stronger than a slightly stronger than average man

Classes

Fighter: No restrictions

• Fighters are the basic class, and have no distinct specialized skills that justify a stat requirement (STR already modifies attacks AND damage, anyway)

Mystic (my version of a cleric/druid) : Minimum WIS 10

• Mystics are wise, pretty simple. Their magic a bit more intuitive in nature than a Wizard’s magic

Rogue: Minumum DEX 10, Minimum INT 8

• Rogues need to be dextrous. A rogue with low DEX simply wouldn’t make sense, because most of their abilities aren’t even tied to DEX. They also need to be not completely stupid in order to execute some fo the trickery they can do

Wizard: Minimum INT 10

• Wizards gotta be smart. They read a lot. We know this.

Some Examples of How This Works

Let’s throw a few scenarios out, to show examples of how this system works to create a believable narrative.

First Scenario: You roll a 12 STR, 11 CON, and 15 INT. You absolutely can play a dwarven Wizard. As opposed to being a human wizard, you are simply a regularly built dwarf, who happens to be very smart an interested in magic. This makes sense. You aren’t a weak nerd dwarf (do those even exist?), you’re just a slightly smarter dwarf with peculiar interests.

Second Scenario: You roll an 11 INT, 9 STR, and 14 DEX. You could be a human rogue, sure, but you could also choose to be an elf rogue, which comes with some racial perks. You also have a cool opportunity to think about how maybe you were cast out from your elven tribe and forced to live in squalor in a human city until you learned to thieve.

Third Scenario: You roll 13 STR, and 11 DEX. You’d be a perfectly fine human fighter. But you like the idea of a halfling who may be one of the strongest halflings who ever lived. You can duck, dodge, and dive, but also surprise enemies with your strength.

So…

I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve done here, what do you think?