We’ve talked before about how racial ability scores can be limiting, as have many others–and this comes at it from a mechanical perspective that lets you build the narrative you want. This system of rules breaks down the idea of race, separating it out into, as the name suggests, Ancestry, Culture, and even later on mixed Heritage and rules for building your own custom cultures. Today we’re looking at Ancestry & Culture by Arcanist Press.
A new set of rules has been making waves on DriveThruRPG, offering players a new way to build characters. Racial ability modifiers, for better or worse, have long been baked into D&D’s DNA, but that seems to be changing–and faster than you think. In their recent Diversity Statement, Wizards of the Coast promised an upcoming product would change the way race works in D&D, giving players an option for creating characters without relying on racial ability scores. A new bestseller on DrivethruRPG outlines character creation rules that replace race with ancestry and culture, and opens the door to better customization.