D&D 5E MTOF: Elves are gender-swapping reincarnates and I am on board with it

[CapnZapp]

How do you explain the presence of Glorfindel at Rivendell in the Third Age after he fell fighting the balrog in the First Age?

He was bisexual...?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

He was bisexual...?

Dude looks like a lady...

 

[Riley37]

they have clearly ruined the game for all the people who have been catered to by nearly all mainstream entertainment their entire lives, and are not at all coming across as fit-throwing toddlers by being bothered by this stuff.

There is a theory which draws a parallel between (a) people who act like aggrieved victims, when someone outside their demographic gains equal access and participation, and (b) a first-born child who resents the arrival of siblings and thus the loss of "only child" status. I'm not gonna name any particular demographic, because that would be "political"; apply this theory however the shoe fits.

 

[Lanefan]

And The Elves are innately magical....

Yep. They're magic-based creatures.

But nobody ever thinks of the logical consequence: if an Elf is innately magical - i.e. is a magic-based creature - then any Elf who somehow enters a null-magic or no-magic area and stays there should in theory die before long. Even a really high-powered Dispel Magic should knock an Elf back a bit.

As for gender switching, in my homebrew I gave that to Orcs in part to help explain their otherwise-ridiculous reproduction rate* and in part just as a differentiator. Elves already have enough going for them.

* - colony almost get wiped out by adventurers? 90% of the survivors switch to female and start having babies as fast as they can....

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yep. They're magic-based creatures.

But nobody ever thinks of the logical consequence: if an Elf is innately magical - i.e. is a magic-based creature - then any Elf who somehow enters a null-magic or no-magic area and stays there should in theory die before long. Even a really high-powered Dispel Magic should knock an Elf back a bit.

As for gender switching, in my homebrew I gave that to Orcs in part to help explain their otherwise-ridiculous reproduction rate* and in part just as a differentiator. Elves already have enough going for them.

* - colony almost get wiped out by adventurers? 90% of the survivors switch to female and start having babies as fast as they can....

Interesting idea...but you could have taken it further.

Like certain worms, Orcs could be hermaphroditic, with gender determined at the time of union. Like the worms, their mating would involve a struggle- whoever wins the contest gets to be the male.

...that time.

Not only does it explain the reproductive rate, it also ties into their culture of dominance and aggression.

 

[Lanefan]

Interesting idea...but you could have taken it further.

Like certain worms, Orcs could be hermaphroditic, with gender determined at the time of union. Like the worms, their mating would involve a struggle- whoever wins the contest gets to be the male.

Better yet, the winner gets to choose. For both.

...that time.

Not only does it explain the reproductive rate, it also ties into their culture of dominance and aggression.

Otherwise, this is cool!

 

[Parmandur]

I think too many people get hooked on the idea that the scores represent something real. 5E has arguably abstracted the value of scores worse than any other edition because they are capped at 20 for mechanical reasons. There's no lore reason why someone couldn't be smarter than that. And some monsters have higher scores than 20, so obviously scores above 20 are possible, just not for players. Which gives even less meaning to tying the scores to a character's actual ability in anything.

Consider for a moment some of the greatest painters or musicians in history. These people were not also naturally talented in Deception, Intimidation or Persuasion. Their +5 Cha applied only to their ability to create music or art. We could argue that what this really means is that their Cha score is actually +0, but that they have a crazy bonus to their "Perform" checks. Sure, we could say that... But that logic starts to fall apart when you start applying it to other things.

Consider instead someone who is incredibly well-learned in Botany. A person who could identify the genus of every plant they see, or quickly figure it out if they'd never seen it before. Are we going to say this person doesn't have a high intelligence?

D&D has set itsself up for a problem by saying that "0" is average but then turns around and says that "average" people make up the vast majority of the world. The cobblers, the farmers, the sailors, the carpenters. This means the "average person" is capable of telling the weather, judging the seasons, watching the tide, milling, tilling and chilling. Your crops are farmed by people who are neither particularly good or bad at anything at all, your cakes are baked by people who apparently aren't good but aren't bad at anything!

So, bringing this back around, it's absolutely silly to say that an elf can't be a great artist or poet because they have a +0 Cha, because the +0 is absolutely irrelevant to anything outside of the player's stat sheet, since the game has already said that most of the people in the entire world have +0's across the board.

Well, the rules are there to facilitate narrative, not world simulation.

 

[Riley37]

So, how does reincarnation work with selling your soul (a la warlock)?

This is an issue only for warlocks who sell their souls, which is not the default in 5E. The Archfey patron doesn't want your soul. The Great Old One patron doesn't want your soul, and might not understand what a soul even is.

Some warlocks cut a deal with Fiend patron regarding their souls. Others, not necessarily. See the 5E PHB for details on patrons and pacts.

 

[Azzy]

Just so I am clear...it seemed from the reactions of some posters across sites that the lore is ALL elves can change and do change sex.

Is that the case or is it just some who are so "blessed" have the ability?

Just some.

 

[Sunseeker]

Well, the rules are there to facilitate narrative, not world simulation.

The rules are there to balance the gameplay.

You don't need rules or stats to tell a cooperative story.