If I want to play an Smart and Eloquent Orc Wizard
Except you are not playing an orc wizard. Kinda sad how people are unwilling to not play a powergaming minmax and what excuses they are using to hide that.
How would I not be playing an Orc wizard if my race is Orc and my class is Wizard? If I roleplay the backstory effectively and the implications of my character in the world I would definitely being playing that character?
Also powergaming is part of why I feel like Tasha's changes were necessary. Powergaming led to certain race and class combos always being put together, kinda hampering creativity. I have heard a lot about Tabaxi monks,Tiefling warlocks, and Dragonborn paladins because the ability score and racial abilities tend to bring people to putting together what seems the "strongest" and throwing out ideas like Orc wizard or Kobold barbarian because they end up feeling weaker than the player who picked the ideal race-class combo. Tasha's removes class and race being intertwined and opens up options without penalizing the player mechanically. I can have fun with a Kenku fighter or a Lizardfolk warlock, still playing their racial qualities like the Lizardfolk's unique mindset while also being able to have a normal power level compared to everyone else that isn't minmaxing.
Elaborating on one of those, I'll be using the Lizardfolk as an example:
I could be creating him with point buy
So I start off with a statline (before race) of: STR 9 DEX 14 CON 12 INT 12 WIS 12 CHA 14
For me this character has lower than average strength but is skinny and dextrous, compared to other lizardfolk from his tribe he is weaker and therefor has a bit of an inferiority complex about that. Lizardfolk as 2 con and 1 wisdom, but I don't really want him to be more wise because he will fall into the pact I give him and I don't want him to have more constitution as that'll start to break from my weaker than other warriors idea. SO I will move the 1 wis to int for some book smarts and the 2 con to cha. True this races his charisma to 16 which is the ideal point buy stat but this still fits cause he'll be able to broker a deal with an entity for power, specifically a great old one entity as the foreign mindsets will match. I won't give him training in persuasion or intimidation though because to others he likely would not be that persuasive. I'd grab skills that match the lifestyle I imagine for him and maybe arcana as one granted by his pact. I would likely mention that this magic was considered taboo by his tribe and he was promptly banished by those warriors that he grew to resent.
