I like the idea of a teleporting race, but why do they have to look and feel almost exactly like elves? Other than the game mechanical features this race seems really unnecessary.
What have I missed?
-Havard
Since the dawn of D&D, elves had two conflicting identities:
- "Sylvan" elves, who were good with bows and wise in the ways of nature. This image stems from Legolas, the archetypcal elf in Lord of the Rings.
- "High" elves, who were chaotic and excelled with magic and sword. This image comes from Poul Anderson's stories, including Three Hearts & Three Lions and The Broken Sword.
Gygax was a fan of the second type of elf, but D&D players were fans of the first type. Over the years, many elf "subraces" cropped up to cover these: high elves, gray elves (Galadriel-inspired, perhaps?), wood elves, wild elves, etc.
When 4e rolled out, it was decided to make the distinction clearer and, in order to avoid "subraces", the "high" and "grey" elves became the eladrin.