D&D (2024) D&D species article

[Parmandur]

Maybe for American popculture. But D&D would normally try to downplay Tolkienisms anyway.

Try, ut not successfully.

 

[Scribe]

reallife cultural archetypes of Elf.

 

[M.L. Martin]

Nope. This is the new paradigm; if it is supernatural, it is magic, and if it is magic, it is spells. A sufficient plurality agrees with this decision to prevent changing until it is far too late.

Dungeons & Dragons 2024, brought to you in part by the National Institute for Co-Ordinated Experiments?

[Merlin] is the last vestige of an old order in which matter and spirit were, from our modern point of view, confused. For him every operation on Nature is a kind of personal contact, like coaxing a child or stroking one’s horse. After him came the modern man to whom Nature is something dead—a machine to be worked, and taken to bits if it won’t work the way he pleases. Finally, come the Belbury people, who take over that view from the modern man unaltered and simply want to increase their power by tacking onto it the aid of spirits—extranatural, antinatural spirits.

Lewis, C. S.. The Space Trilogy, Omnib (p. 809). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I am disappointed by most of the changes to the races. I thought that the UA was a promising start, but wanted them to do more. Wizards of the Coast has a strange habit of creating cool new systems for mechanics and then either forgetting about them a couple books down the line (lineages, vehicle action stations, expanded spell lists through backgrounds/race) or over/misusing them (Proficiency Bonus per long rest abilities, innate spellcasting, bonus action temporary features). There’s just so many baffling changes and choices with these versions of the races.

I do not understand why they simply did not reprint the Fizban’s Dragonborn races. Those were already basically perfectly designed and the “spectral wings” feature at least kind of made sense for Gem Dragonborn.

I do not understand why Dwarves have to activate their tremor sense.

I like the Goliath “subraces” (I came up with a similar idea a while back), but the “temporary grow to Large” feature baffles me, mechanically and thematically. There’s no basis in the lore, I doubt that the new lore will say anything beyond “they can do this now,” and it’s overall just a bizarre and unnecessary feature. It reeks of WotC trying to have their cake and eat it too on the topic of “should Goliaths be Large instead of Medium.” It is the sort of lazy design choice I’ve grown to hate with recent WotC products.

The removal of Orcs’ Powerful Build is weird, but I honestly don’t care that much. I’m more curious why they felt the need to change that instead of upset that it was removed. That’s kind of how I feel about a lot of these changes. I don’t think it’s “change for the sake of change,” but more that it was an unnecessary change that I cannot imagine anyone asked for. I’m sure WotC has their own weird justification.

I like to think of Tieflings and Aasimar as reflections of one another and I wish that was represented in the mechanics and lore. While the mechanical representation of both is pretty mediocre, the Tieflings being especially boring mechanically. My most recent versions of Aasimar are an inversion of Tieflings. Tieflings are oppressed, Aasimar are the racist oppressors. Tieflings are typically good despite their fiendish heritage (or as good as humans, at least), Aasimar are typically evil despite their celestial heritage (well, more because of it. My Aasimar use their angelic blood as an excuse for why they think they’re the best race and oppress others because of it). Aasimar and Tieflings being mirrors mechanically could make this theme stronger. I also wish they had made it so Aasimar can look like non-Angelic celestials, like Guardinals and Archons, like how Tieflings can look like Demons, Devils, and Yugoloths. That would be another interesting parallel between the two.

The other races are so bland and similarly designed that there’s not really anything worth saying about them. Humans are boring because they always are. Elves and Gnomes are boring because most of their features are spells. Halflings are boring because they exist.

And I’m not really a fan of moving ASIs to Backgrounds. I’m glad Backgrounds have a bit more mechanical weight than in the 2014 books, but I preferred the Floating ASIs system from Tasha’s. Man, WotC design is just not consistent.

 

[Yaarel]

Going thru the 5e 2014 skills, here are the ones that feel most Elf.

STRONG ASSOCIATION
Arcana (by far)
Persuasion
Insight
History (past, present, ... and future!)

MODERATE ASSOCIATION
Nature (protoscience, artifice, understanding how the cosmos works)
Investigation
Religion (animism, participation in sacred traditions)
Medicine (probably some healing techniques, but mostly magical healing)
Intimidation (can mess up someones fate)
Animal Handling (some ride horses, but these might be winds or elves shifting in horse shape)
Survival (perhaps some hunt in the wilderness, thus need such skills, including navigation)
Athletics-Acrobatics (they are healthy and associate with weapons)
Performance (artistry, beauty)
Slight-of-Hand (if understood as feats of as manual dexterity, such as when doing metalwork)

WEAK ASSOCIATION
Deception (oppositely speaking clearly and well, and rationally)
Stealth (heh, they are more likely to glow in the dark, characteristically bright, conspicuous)
Perception (I cant think of a reference to heightened sense − the opposite comes to mind)


Any way, I greatly appreciate the 2024 Elf disconnect from Dexterity.


[Edit, I found a reference to Elves hunting (veiddu dýr), at least three brothers did. The same text Ballad of Vǫlundr emphasizes their shamanic magic.]

 

[Minigiant]

I think you could do Elf hybrids in the Elf via the Elf lineage.

Humanish Elf: 2 Skill Proficiencies, level 3- 1 Expertise Level 5- 1 origin feat

 

[Yaarel]

I think you could do Elf hybrids in the Elf via the Elf lineage.

Humanish Elf: 2 Skill Proficiencies, level 3- 1 Expertise Level 5- 1 origin feat

Balancewise, it would be ok to swap out both spells (slot 1 and slot 2) for an origin feat.

Alternatively, swap out the lineage cantrip and the minor trait for the origin feat.


Oppositely, an origin feat that grants two spells (slot 1 an slot 2) or cantrip-and-minor-trait would be a way for a Human species to express Elf ancestry.

 

[Hriston]

Here Elven-wise, might mean -wise in the sense of "in the direction of" (clockwise), "in the manner of" (otherwise), "with regard to being elven", immortal in the elven way of being immortal.

Even here the "fair" quality of the Elf, the aura of superhuman beauty, relates to its magic persuasiveness, and enchantingness. The Persuasion skill.

It means "having the wisdom of an elf". I.e. being wise as an elf is wise.

Eta: It presupposes such a thing as elven-wisdom such that one can be said to be elven-wise.

 

[Scribe]

I am disappointed by most of the changes to the races. I thought that the UA was a promising start, but wanted them to do more. Wizards of the Coast has a strange habit of creating cool new systems for mechanics and then either forgetting about them a couple books down the line (lineages, vehicle action stations) or over/misusing them (Proficiency Bonus per long rest abilities, innate spellcasting, bonus action temporary features). There’s just so many baffling changes and choices with these versions of the races.

I do not understand why they simply did not reprint the Fizban’s Dragonborn races. Those were already basically perfectly designed and the “spectral wings” feature at least kind of made sense for Gem Dragonborn.

I do not understand why Dwarves have to activate their tremor sense.

I like the Goliath “subraces” (I came up with a similar idea a while back), but the “temporary grow to Large” feature baffles me, mechanically and thematically. There’s no basis in the lore, I doubt that the new lore will say anything beyond “they can do this now,” and it’s overall just a bizarre and unnecessary feature. It reeks of WotC trying to have their cake and eat it too on the topic of “should Goliaths be Large instead of Medium.” It is the sort of lazy design choice I’ve grown to hate with recent WotC products.

The removal of Orcs’ Powerful Build is weird, but I honestly don’t care that much. I’m more curious why they felt the need to change that instead of upset that it was removed. That’s kind of how I feel about a lot of these changes. I don’t think it’s “change for the sake of change,” but more that it was an unnecessary change that I cannot imagine anyone asked for. I’m sure WotC has their own weird justification.

I like to think of Tieflings and Aasimar as reflections of one another and I wish that was represented in the mechanics and lore. While the mechanical representation of both is pretty mediocre, the Tieflings being especially boring mechanically. My most recent versions of Aasimar are an inversion of Tieflings. Tieflings are oppressed, Aasimar are the racist oppressors. Tieflings are typically good despite their fiendish heritage (or as good as humans, at least), Aasimar are typically evil despite their celestial heritage (well, more because of it. My Aasimar use their angelic blood as an excuse for why they think they’re the best race and oppress others because of it). Aasimar and Tieflings being mirrors mechanically could make this theme stronger. I also wish they had made it so Aasimar can look like non-Angelic celestials, like Guardinals and Archons, like how Tieflings can look like Demons, Devils, and Yugoloths. That would be another interesting parallel between the two.

The other races are so bland and similarly designed that there’s not really anything worth saying about them. Humans are boring because they always are. Elves and Gnomes are boring because most of their features are spells. Halflings are boring because they exist.

And I’m not really a fan of moving ASIs to Backgrounds. I’m glad Backgrounds have a bit more mechanical weight than in the 2014 books, but I preferred the Floating ASIs system from Tasha’s. Man, WotC design is just not consistent.

All this really. So much of the species work looks like patching over cracks in a system they are about to release a revised rule set for.

Fix the bloody rules, and we dont need to tape over the cracks.

"Can we have Tiny Fairy?"

"No"

 

[Jaiken]

With Half-Orcs and Half-Elves gone officially, I will just double down and make it where my players can play half races/species of anything they want. Want to play a Half Dwarf Half Aasimar? Go ahead.