Musing on ability bonuses for various races, I asked myself: "Why don't elves--except for the drow, that is--have increased Charisma?"
Right there in the second paragraph of their PHB entry, not counting the in-fiction excerpt, it says: "With their unearthly grace and fine features, elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of many other races." Primarily based upon Tolkien's elves, where they are described as beautiful and exceptionally strong-willed, it seems high Charisma would be a pretty natural fit for a D&D elf. Certainly more so than, say, Intelligence. I never got any vibe that they are necessarily more intelligent than humans. Charismatic and wise, sure. Intelligent? Not really.
Thus I pondered upon this topic of utmost importance for many a long minute and came to realise that it was done to preserve the elves' wizardry angle. For reasons of mechanical balance, they can't have bonuses to DEX and CHA, and WIS/INT to boot. Since they've been described from the early days of D&D as powerful mages, it's expected that they should have a bonus to INT (high elves at least). Thing is, that seems like a relic of past editions--pre-3E in fact-- when the only arcane magic option was the wizard. Now, with warlocks, sorcerers, and full caster bards, I don't think there's that much of a need to emphasise a wizarding elf.
On the contrary, they are described as inherently magical. Every high elf knows a cantrip. Magic is in their blood. Doesn't that sound a bit sorcerous? And lo and behold, Charisma is just the needed stat to make a great sorcerer! But why stop there? Elves, with their fey ancestry and mystical bonds with nature would lore-wise make for great warlocks with Archfey patrons, wouldn't they? And what of bards? Elves have long been great bards of D&D fiction, what with their famous ballads and delicate poetry. And valour bards seem like a pretty good fit for the feel of the classic elven bladesinger. All of those classes work with Charisma as the primary stat.
So, what do would you think of a little bit of elf rejiggering? I'm not entirely sure how to do it, though. Got any good ideas? I'm uncertain how to reconcile their high agility with the need for higher charisma without making them overpowered or underpowered with regards to some popular builds.
Instead of +2 DEX, how about +1 DEX? Then, for High Elves +2 CHA and for Wood Elves +1 DEX (for a total of +2) and +1 WIS (making them essentially unchanged).
Right there in the second paragraph of their PHB entry, not counting the in-fiction excerpt, it says: "With their unearthly grace and fine features, elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of many other races." Primarily based upon Tolkien's elves, where they are described as beautiful and exceptionally strong-willed, it seems high Charisma would be a pretty natural fit for a D&D elf. Certainly more so than, say, Intelligence. I never got any vibe that they are necessarily more intelligent than humans. Charismatic and wise, sure. Intelligent? Not really.
Thus I pondered upon this topic of utmost importance for many a long minute and came to realise that it was done to preserve the elves' wizardry angle. For reasons of mechanical balance, they can't have bonuses to DEX and CHA, and WIS/INT to boot. Since they've been described from the early days of D&D as powerful mages, it's expected that they should have a bonus to INT (high elves at least). Thing is, that seems like a relic of past editions--pre-3E in fact-- when the only arcane magic option was the wizard. Now, with warlocks, sorcerers, and full caster bards, I don't think there's that much of a need to emphasise a wizarding elf.
On the contrary, they are described as inherently magical. Every high elf knows a cantrip. Magic is in their blood. Doesn't that sound a bit sorcerous? And lo and behold, Charisma is just the needed stat to make a great sorcerer! But why stop there? Elves, with their fey ancestry and mystical bonds with nature would lore-wise make for great warlocks with Archfey patrons, wouldn't they? And what of bards? Elves have long been great bards of D&D fiction, what with their famous ballads and delicate poetry. And valour bards seem like a pretty good fit for the feel of the classic elven bladesinger. All of those classes work with Charisma as the primary stat.
So, what do would you think of a little bit of elf rejiggering? I'm not entirely sure how to do it, though. Got any good ideas? I'm uncertain how to reconcile their high agility with the need for higher charisma without making them overpowered or underpowered with regards to some popular builds.
Instead of +2 DEX, how about +1 DEX? Then, for High Elves +2 CHA and for Wood Elves +1 DEX (for a total of +2) and +1 WIS (making them essentially unchanged).
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His elves are portrayed as master smiths, healers, artisans, composers and builders. Their civilization is the height of craftsmanship, learning and enlightenment. Tolkien elves are loremasters without peer. An elf forged the Rings of Power. An argument can be made for Int to be the primary (+2) with Dex the secondary (+1). 
