D&D 5E The woes of the elf and his longsword

[Mondas711]

Does anyone else find it odd that the preferred weapon of the elf sword and shield fighter is no longer the optimal weapon for that race? I am of course speaking of the longsword. The favored weapon of the wood and high elf no longer really fits them. If using point buy, the dwarf, human, half-orc, and dragonborn can all start at a 16/17 str yielding a +3 hit/dam. The high elf and wood elf can only start at a 15 str and only get a +2 hit/dam. So why is the dwarf using the longsword better than the elf? Flies totally in the face of reason in my book. Oh, and also I don't prefer to use the favored weapon of the hated, despised drow either (the rapier). So, either the longsword shouldn't be favored by surface elves, wood elves should have got a +1 to str instead of wis and had the longsword proficiency, or the longsword should have had the finesse property. Any of these options would have been better than the odd configuration we have now. Also, before anyone says that a versatile weapon with finesse would be too strong, remember that the longsword is one of the most storied weapons of history and attaching those options to it would do a lot to set it apart in the game also. As it stands, a warhammer weighs less and does the same thing as a longsword. Well, except that the warhammer smashes skeletons better and doesn't split oozes.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Elven weapon proficiency in 5E is a really odd beast, that's true. For the most part, anyone who is interested in weapon combat will already have martial weapon proficiency and thus derive no benefit from it; and anyone who doesn't do weapon combat will have better options (either crossbows or cantrips, depending on level). The only case I've found where elven weapon proficiency is an actual plus and not just fluff is for monks, who have good DX and an extra attack, but no native longbow proficiency. Plus, wood elves already make good monks.

 

[Lidgar]

Yeah, it is an odd duck. My workaround is to have them proficient with the elven leaf blade - basically a rapier that does slashing damage instead (a finesse weapon, not versatile).

 

[BigVanVader]

I agree with every thing you said, except:

Oh, and also I don't prefer to use the favored weapon of the hated, despised drow either (the rapier).

Lol, what? It's a sword. Really, it's just a dueling sword, and considered a very, very brilliant weapon if you're in an unarmored fight against someone. Why would the Elves not use a useful tool, simply on the grounds that some douchebags over there also recognize that it's a useful tool?

 

[Mephistopheles]

It's a matter of legacy over mechanical coherence.

That said, if the intended flavour behind the idea is that elves - and dwarves, I suppose, which I think are the only other race that get racial weapon proficiencies - tend to have some proficiency with a number of martial weapons, I'd sooner just replace that racial trait with one that gives them proficiency with one or more martial weapons. The choice of weapons could be left to the player or guided by campaign flavour. For example, I'd make it more granular, with certain groups (tribes, clans, regions, or what have you) favouring particular weapons, rather than prescribing a set of weapons for the entire race.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I think this just highlights how useless strength is for any non melee combatant, or alternately how over used dexterity is.

 

[Hriston]

I agree that all elves, not just wood elves, should be at least as strong as humans, but I suppose that really depends on the flavor of your world, and is one of those cases where the official rules intrude into what should really be the purview of the DM. I also generally don't like to use rapiers in my games. They are far too modern for the feel I'm going for. What I believe was intended with the racial weapons proficiencies (and the free cantrip for high-elves), however, was an emulation of the old-school elf who was both warrior and magic-user by default. They really only come into play if you choose a class that doesn't grant proficiency with martial weapons, in which case it gives you the ability to play your elven wizard somewhat like a fighter/magic-user right out of the gate at level one. For single classed high-elven fighters there's the free cantrip. This distinguishes the elf from other races, but does lead to the unfortunate situation that they are not the most optimal strength-based fighters. I suppose that if elves were the best at everything, as I'm inclined to conceive them to be, then everyone would be playing elves, or at least that may be the issue from a game-design standpoint.

 

[Roger]

Does anyone else find it odd that the preferred weapon of the elf sword and shield fighter is no longer the optimal weapon for that race?

No, not really. Elves don't seem like the sort of creatures that sit around wondering which weapon is optimal. They're more likely to pick whatever doesn't clash with their outfit. Your realms may vary.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Elves are traditional, rather than practical. They will use a weapon to which they are ill-suited, because that's what they've always used.

It was just as silly when they did it in 3E.

 

[Ahrimon]

Heaven forbid they have a non-optimal story based approach to the races. Not everything has to be mechanically advantageous. Elves and longswords have gone back at least as far as 1e. It's a DnD-ism.