Question; how do people feel about human opponents in D&D (from fighting bandits to playing politics with powerful feudal nobles and merchants, etc); does it give the game a tie to reality, or do you think there's nothing a bland human can do that a monster can't?
@Leucrotta I think in terms of diversity and visibility, it's good for players and player characters to get forced to recognize that non-humans can have just as complex and compelling interactions as humans. It does the soul some good to have to deal with something other than itself all the time. IMO, though. YMMV
@Leucrotta It's a question of desired tone most of all IMO
Monsterous antagonists let you avoid the personal nittygritty of murderhoboing around.
@Leucrotta Assuming you mean humanoid, enemies or antagonists that characters explicitly ascribe personhood on? Yes, can definitely ground things, make it more real, and lead to complex ways do deal with things that isn't just hitting it until it stops moving. Though that can work in some social situations too.
@Mycroft no, specifically human. There’s a wide world of possible adversaries and part of D&D’s appeal for me are cool monsters, so are villains who look like the people around you irl and who have a similar background to your PCs still appealing and compelling?
@Leucrotta i like having human(oid) opponents - it makes it harder to just kill every enemy. i enjoy a good fight, but for me tricks and diplomacy are a lot more fun