D&D 5E PHB Races Redone

[Eubani]

Elf MkII (This covers both Wood & High Elf as biologically speaking there is no difference other than hair/eye colour)
Trance: As per PHB
Starvision: Can see unlimited under a clear night sky with stars and/or moon without penalty.
Sylvan Elves are by their very natures tied to nature itself all Sylvan Elves can add their Charisma modifier to non knowledge checks involving natural environment, plants and animals.
Fey Ancestry As per PHB
Keen Senses As per PHB
Graceful form: May add proficiency bonus to Dexterity Ability Checks once per short rest
Born to Magic: Knows one 1st level arcane spell they can cast once per long rest. If character is a spellcaster this spell is also known or prepared.

As Drow Have enough Biological differences they will have their own race entry.

 

[mrpopstar]

I'd organize things...

Race: Elf
Ethnicity: Dark Elf (Drow)
Culture: Aevendrow, Lorendrow, Udadrow

...etc.

That gives a clearer picture as to what kinds of features should relate to each descriptive category. For instance, ethnicity probably doesn't justify an ability modifier.

 

[jmartkdr2]

We think alike!

Seriously, imagine two dwarven subraces. Sorry, ancestries. One was forced by other races to live high in the mountains, working hard all day. Another settles in a region of easy living. A thousand years pass. Can one sub-ancestry have a +2 to Str or Con, and the other a +2 to something else? Is it not possible for one sub-ancestry to have a higher top end for an ability score? It strains realism.

Although... it is a game. Perhaps we should not be too worried about realism? But then we would not be concerned with ability scores...

Tell me a gnome and a goliath have the same Str range so I can sleep tonight!

The weakest creature with a strength score at all - a chipmunk, say - has a chance, albeit a small one, of making a DC 14 strength check. IE bashing down a pretty good wooden door.

The strongest gods (Kord, Thor, et al) have a chance of failing to break down said door.

 

[Eubani]

I think we will be seeing Drow redone in the near future by WotC so lets jump over to Dwarves... poor often forgotten Dwarves. Lets see mechanics for Frown lines and grumpiness?

Dwarf Abilities:
+2 Con Way of the Dodo
Speed 25ft Biological but are they really small enough to necessitate this?
Darkvision 60ft Biological
Dwarven Resiliance Biological
Dwarven Combat Training Cultural
Tool Profociency Cultural
Stonecunning Cultural
Languages Way of the Dodo

A bit of an even mix between biological and cultural. Dwarves have enough of a Biological identity that this should be simple enough for the Base race.

Aside from stat ups which we are passing on, the Subraces provide Dwarvern Toughness (Biological) and Dwarven Armour Training (Cultural).

 

[Eubani]

New Dwarf race (no need for subrace)

Speed 30ft
Darkvision As Per PHB
Dwarven Resilience As Per PHB
Dwarven Toughness As Per PHB
Load Bearing Can carry as if large
Enduring as The Mountains: Ignore first level of Exhaustion gained each day.

 

[aco175]

Elves are nature beings taking the shape of a human while wielding some form of powerful innate magic ( = choice of magical race feat).

I would caution how we label things. There is a whole thread about non-humanoids being able to be an evil race with redcaps vs. drow.

 

[Eubani]

I would caution how we label things. There is a whole thread about non-humanoids being able to be an evil race with redcaps vs. drow.

Hopefully people can leave their manufactured outrage at the door.

 

[turnip_farmer]

Do we have any Biologists on hand?

As a biologist, I can advise that nobody in magical fantasyland has DNA. Races were formed by gods, or generated from primal energies of their own accord. Children are formed by a merging of the spiritual energies of their parents, or by the intervention of fertility spirits.

Hope this helps.

 

[Yaarel]

I would caution how we label things. There is a whole thread about non-humanoids being able to be an evil race with redcaps vs. drow.

I am not seeing the problem with saying, "elves are a magical people", who have innate magical abilities.

This trope is unrelated to being good or evil.

Moreover, where an elf is a "nature being", and actual feature of nature, like sunlight (Norse) or fertile land (British), they are nonhuman. When they project from their natural body (light or land), to take on the form of a human, this can be any human of any ethnicity or gender. A sunbeam lacks an ethnicity and gender in itself, thus can imitate and maybe prefer any ethnicity and gender.

 

[Eubani]

Anyway back to adjusting the PHB races