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+--- Thread: The ears are (not) just for show (/showthread.php?tid=8296)
The ears are (not) just for show - SolAndLuna - 08-26-2021
I may or may not have made this suggestion in the past, but I may as well do it again.
Generally, animal ears tend to be more sensitive than human ears, right? So, why is it that it isn't really represented in any way? Aside from Leporidae, anyway, whose ears are so sensitive that they get a sound weakness... but still get none of the advantages that sensitivity provides. In addition, some fantasy settings have elves' long ears be sensitive to sound as well, but in this case, they're simply there for show.
My suggestion is simply to provide a couple of traits to make it actually feel like the ears do something, without making the races notably better or worse at what they do anyway.
Sensitive Ears (available to all races with animal ears, and potentially Elves and Doriads)
Your ears are naturally more capable of picking up sounds, something that you make frequent use of. Quiet Person effects from other people are nullified, but in exchange, loud people shouting within whisper range can harm your ears, having a low chance of causing an injury.
Leporidae's Acuity (available to Leporidae if Sensitive Ears was taken)
You take very good care of your ears, and as such, have an easier time picking up on sounds than any non-Leporidae, increasing the range from which you can hear people speaking. However, this also makes your ears more sensitive, increasing the chance of taking an injury from someone shouting close by.
It could be adjusted at will, of course, but I feel like these would be fun without causing any issues with balance or anything of that nature.