D&D 5E [Homebrew] − Elf Ability Scores

[Yaarel]

Elf strongly associates with Charisma (Half Elf Charisma, Fey themes, charm, artistic style, innate magic, etcetera). It makes more sense if all Elves use the same racial ability score adjustment that makes high Charisma possible. Then the differences between all Elf subgroups becomes cultural or cosmetic.


Elf ability score increase: Your Charisma score or Dexterity score increases by 2, and one of the other five ability scores increases by 1.




So, High Elf culture is "typically" Dexterity +2 and Intelligence +1. But an individual High Elf player can still make use of one of the other options, such as a Charisma +2 and Intelligence +1 for a Fey theme Bard.

Likewise, a DM can homebrew a Scottish-style Sith Wild Elf culture that is Charisma +2 and Strength +1, while an Elf player can stick with Dexterity +2 and Wisdom +1. An Irish-style Sidhe might be Charisma +2 and Wisdom +1, and so on.

The D&D Nentir Vale setting can have an Eladrin Elf culture that is typically Charisma +2 and Intelligence +1.

And so on.

All of this variation is easy to do when the ability score trait for the Elf race is more flexible. It stays true to the D&D tradition of a proliferation of Elf subraces, but simplifies it and emphasizes the how the differences are cultural.



The emphasize on culture, gives the creative DM more latitude with how to represent the Elf, while still remaining recognizable as an Elf.

 

[Yaarel]

Creative DMs can design Elf cultures that are more appropriate for their campaign setting.

For example:

High Elf Weapon Training: You have proficiency with the longsword and the longbow. When you wield a longsword, you can use your Dexterity for its attack and damage, instead of Strength.

Wood Elf Weapon Training: You have proficiency with the spear and the long bow. When you wield a spear, you can use your Wisdom for its attack and damage, including a ranged attack, instead of Strength.

Drow Weapon Training: You have proficiency with the rapier, the shortsword, and the hand crossbow.

...

Sun Elf Weapon Training. You wield your culturally celebrated weapons by means of innate magic. You have proficiency with the longsword and spear. When wielding it, you can use your Charisma for its attack and damage instead of Strength.



Using Charisma to enchant the weapon emphasizes innate magic of various kinds of Elf. Finessing of the longsword represents the High Elf culture of elegant swordfighting that emphasizes the advantages of Dexterity. The Wood Elf culture relies more on primal instinct. Drow weapons synergize fine as is with Dexterity.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Interesting.
What is your setting like when it comes to races and subraces? Does it go with the profiferation of Elf subraces like FR was notorious for, or does it have very few, like Eberron?

Regarding your second post, have to admit that I'm not a fan of being able to apply different ability scores to weapon attack and damage rolls.

 

[Yaarel]

Interesting.
What is your setting like when it comes to races and subraces? Does it go with the profiferation of Elf subraces like FR was notorious for, or does it have very few, like Eberron?

Regarding your second post, have to admit that I'm not a fan of being able to apply different ability scores to weapon attack and damage rolls.

At the moment, I am mulling a new homebrew setting.

Regarding elves, in recent settings, I tweaked the 4e-inspired triad. (Either I was the DM, or the DM was favorable.)
• High Elf (Eladrin): Cha, plus Int or Dex.
• Wood Elf (Elf): Dex, plus Wis or Str.
• Dark Elf (Drow): Dex, plus Cha or Wis.



Personally, I associate the Elf archetype with the following abilities, in decreasing order of prominence.
Charisma − charm is the quintessence of reallife accounts of Elf (Norse Alfr, Scot Sith, English Aelf, French Faie, etc.); supernatural beauty (Norse Alfr is sky-spirits associating with sunrays, complete with a gentle solar aura; in the north, the sun is warm, gentle, and lifegiving, as opposed to in the south, where the sun is hot, fiery, and scorching); inspiring fear and fascination; innately magic, the Elf is a personification of the concept of magic (in Middle English, the word ‘fairie’ means ‘magic’, with word ‘magic’ coming later to avoid confusion with a specific kind of magical creature) (Norse Alfr especially associates with Seiðr mind-influencing magic); songsters, poets.
Intelligence − magic item creators, personification of skillfulness, and technology, advisors, scholars (Norse Skald, Celtic Bard).
Wisdom − prophets, oracles, discerners of real motives, enforcement of poetic justice, and reliable advisors (Shakespeare Fairy are childlike land-spirits, personifying natural fertility, whence nature and fate).
Strength − warriors (Scot Sith are known as spirits with ridiculous superhuman Strength).
Dexterity − magic item artisanry and craftsmanship; no archery (Norse Alfr associate with sword and spear, and have moreorless nothing to do with archery). However, English archery (English Aelf associates with ‘Aelfshot’, where invisible magic arrows cause seizures and muscle spasms, and Stone Age stone blades were sometimes attributed to the remains of magical elven arrowheads); D&D Elf Dexterity is a Tolkienism, deriving from scenes of Legolas and a troop of Elven archers; the Shakespeare Fairy is known for dancing.
Constitution − long lifespans, source of healing, disease resistant, and tough.


Looking again at my list, I clearly perceive the Elf archetype as a ‘mental race’.

If I had my way totally, the Elf abilities would simply be: Charisma +2, and any other ability +1. This makes enough sense in light of the Half Elf Charisma +2 and two other abilities +1. The problem is, Dex is a D&D-ism that is popular enough. So, I want to make room for it.

Maybe a coherent compromise can be:


Elf with strong ties to the magical Elf homeworld (Feywild, Alfheimr, etcetera):
Your Charisma ability score increases by 2, and one other ability score increases by 1.

Elf with strong ties to the mundane Human homeworld (Tolkien, Greyhawk):
Your Dexterity ability score increases by 2, and one other ability score increases by 1.

When creating your Elf character, decide whether the Elf is more otherworldly or more mundane.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Ah. I see.
Bear in mind that Half-elves are generally given a charisma bonus because they are used to using social skills and situations I believe: it isn't really a reflection of the elven parent,( if one of the parents was elven.)

I think much of the real world lore that you've associated with D&D elves would probably actually be outright fey in D&D terms rather than the more material elf. 4e could have fudged them as Eladrin, but 5e high elves aren't really the lords and ladies of the fey courts anymore. The elves may have descended from the fey, but those real world tales have inspired quite a few separate D&D fey races.
Tolkien "humanised" the elves from the assorted mythologies, and D&D has moved even further in that direction, with the Elf race being less powerful, but also much less restricted than a full-on sidhe or similar would be.

 

[snickersnax]

I love charisma for elves especially instead of intelligence for the reasons noted in OP. I rarely think of elves as carrying around a book of spells for 1000 years.

But I suppose that elves that migrate to human lands might be wizards with high intelligence that just didn't fit in with the rest of the elves. I mean look at Hermey the elf... he wanted to be a Dentist

From a human perspective if many of the elves you meet are wizards practicing a fringe elf profession, you might think that all elves are smart wizards. That's what happened to stone giants.... They are all a bunch of crazed psychopathic thugs.

High Elf Weapon Training: You have proficiency with the longsword and the longbow. When you wield a longsword, you can use your Dexterity for its attack and damage, instead of Strength.

I know its been discussed eons before I joined this forum, but I think longsword, when wielded two-handed should be a finesse weapon. It makes sense with elven proficiency and rogue proficiency and the reality of using a longsword and it helps longsword be something other than a terrible two-handed choice. Another solution could be a new weapon type: elven longsword which is a finesse weapon ( perhaps more similar to a historical feder).

I agree with Cap'n Kobold about adding other ability scores to weapon attack and damage...

not a fan

.

As for elven Dexterity being associated with the more human world. I've always thought of elven dexterity as arising from fey ancestry and having to do with the slowing down and speeding up of time. Make dexterity an integral part of their ancestral heritage.

Finally Constitution: Originally D&D elves had a constitution penalty. Fey from the Old English means feeble or sickly. Yeah they live a long time, but constitution and potential lifespan are unrelated in the rest of D&D. Tolkien's elves were fleeing Middle Earth because they were so sensitive to negative conditions. If anything I might give elves the opportunity to take a -2 con for another +2 in another stat.

 

[Ganymede81]

Or you could delete all of the racial stat bonuses and just give players a couple more points for their point buy.

 

[cbwjm]

Elf strongly associates with Charisma (Half Elf Charisma, Fey themes, charm, artistic style, innate magic, etcetera). It makes more sense if all Elves use the same racial ability score adjustment that makes high Charisma possible. Then the differences between all Elf subgroups becomes cultural or cosmetic.


Elf ability score increase: Your Charisma score or Dexterity score increases by 2, and one of the other five ability scores increases by 1.




So, High Elf culture is "typically" Dexterity +2 and Intelligence +1. But an individual High Elf player can still make use of one of the other options, such as a Charisma +2 and Intelligence +1 for a Fey theme Bard.

Likewise, a DM can homebrew a Scottish-style Sith Wild Elf culture that is Charisma +2 and Strength +1, while an Elf player can stick with Dexterity +2 and Wisdom +1. An Irish-style Sidhe might be Charisma +2 and Wisdom +1, and so on.

The D&D Nentir Vale setting can have an Eladrin Elf culture that is typically Charisma +2 and Intelligence +1.

And so on.

All of this variation is easy to do when the ability score trait for the Elf race is more flexible. It stays true to the D&D tradition of a proliferation of Elf subraces, but simplifies it and emphasizes the how the differences are cultural.



The emphasize on culture, gives the creative DM more latitude with how to represent the Elf, while still remaining recognizable as an Elf.

What I like best about this is having elves speaking in a thick Scottish accent instead of dwarves.

 

[snickersnax]

Ah. I see.
Bear in mind that Half-elves are generally given a charisma bonus because they are used to using social skills and situations I believe: it isn't really a reflection of the elven parent,( if one of the parents was elven.)

I wouldn't mind if half-elves had proficiency in charisma-based skills because of the social hardships they overcame growing up facing half-breed prejudice, but I don't think they should have inherently higher charisma than elves (which translates to more magical power in any charisma-based spell casting class than an elf would have). I would argue that the other two half-breed races with high charisma scores (tieflings and dragonborn) have a super-high charisma non-human parent and they have had at least as much opportunity to practice social skills as any half-elf.

 

[Yaarel]

What I like best about this is having elves speaking in a thick Scottish accent instead of dwarves.

The Scottish burr for the Sith (Wild Elf) works well. It is growing on me.