D&D (2024) Should 2014 Half Elves and Half Orcs be added to the 2025 SRD?

[Horwath]

I realy don't know what your point is.

point is that compared to Lucky, somewhat Tough and Magic initiate, others are really bad.

so maybe "lineage" feat should be balanced towards Lucky and not Skilled.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

point is that compared to Lucky, somewhat Tough and Magic initiate, others are really bad.

so maybe "lineage" feat should be balanced towards Lucky and not Skilled.

It should be in between.

I also disagree with darkvision = skill proficiency that was established in the soon outdated tasha's guide.

Still: I just want to recreate the old half elf. Not make something new.

If I would want to do that, I'd might add a single cantrip, as that is what every elf species now has.

 

[Horwath]

It should be in between.

I also disagree with darkvision = skill proficiency that was established in the soon outdated tasha's guide.

Still: I just want to recreate the old half elf. Not make something new.

If I would want to do that, I'd might add a single cantrip, as that is what every elf species now has.

Elven Blooded feat:

Darkvision 60ft
Perception proficiency
Cantrip
Charm resistance/immunity+trance
3 Tools/languages/weapons
+5 ft speed

pick 4 benefits.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Elven Blooded feat:

Darkvision 60ft
Perception proficiency
Cantrip
Charm resistance/immunity+trance
3 Tools/languages/weapons
+5 ft speed

pick 4 benefits.

Remove 3 tools/language/weapons.
This seems outdated.

 

[Horwath]

Remove 3 tools/language/weapons.
This seems outdated.

you have 4 picks out of 6 options, maybe someone want's more roleplay aspect.
Hmm, maybe raise that 3 to 5?

 

[Vaalingrade]

But we had a narrative something that had lore, art, and visibility.

Lore and visibility for the Mulatto Tragedy narrative, which... yeah, no.

It could be tweaked and improved on.

But let's be real: it wouldn't have. At least not in the current environment with them only really seeing chasing nostalgia or avoiding the worst parts of it. We've already seen how sad it made some of the people WotC keeps courting for no good reason to see orcs humanized and drow get non-stupid cultures.

Now we have nothing

We always had nothing. Just the constant idea that we're either the children of abuse or lives of tragedy. We've just been conditioned to take negative rep because that's all we're given.

, only "you are truly one or the other"

Granted this is a (not uncommon) bad way to explain how the mechanics work. An awful way in fact. But at best it's just as bad as what was there before, not worse.

Also I can't let go of the awfull feeling that came upon hearing "your existence is inherently racist so go away".

It's more like 'the way the game treated your existence is inherently racist'. Which it one billion percent was. Half orcs being worse, but half elves being all Mulatto tragedies.

Again, as others have pointed out, Eberron did it right and had half elves be actually their own people. D&D writ large doesn't want to do that and in fact doesn't know what it wants beyond and army of Tanis. Until they're ready to roll up their sleeves and put in the work to give us a good treatment, I'd rather they not D&D this one up. Remember this is a franchise that still thinks slavery is a fun, interesting backstory to toss in whenever they can't think of something compelling.

 

[Minigiant]

Lets say, we disagree about the power level as we do with other things.

Just a reminder:

One skill (1/3 feat)
One language (5% maybe?)
Darkvision (20%-40% at least as powerful as a cantrip... or a permanent 2nd level spell...)
Resistance to sleep and charm. (1/3 feat)

Not the best, but also not the worst feat.

So making half elf bad is okay, then?

Because that is still a bad feat.

 

[Remathilis]

This was my preliminary conversion of both species, mostly for updating 2014 PCs
This is only a draft.

HALF-ELF TRAITS
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium (about 5–6 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
Life Span: 180 years on average
As a Half-Elf, you have these special traits.
Darkvision. You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Half-Elven Heritage. You elven heritage manifests with some ability of your parent’s lineage. Pick one of the following elf types below. You gain the special ability of that elf type.
Drow. The range of your Darkvision increases to 120 feet.
High Elf. You know the Prestidigitation cantrip. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can replace that cantrip with a different cantrip from the Wizard Spell List.
Sea Elf. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Wood Elf. Your Speed increases to 35 feet.
Fey Ancestry. You have Advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the Charmed Condition on yourself.

HALF-ORC TRAITS
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium (about 5–6 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
Life Span: 80 years on average
Darkvision. You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 Hit Points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 Hit Point instead. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Natural Intuition. You have proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Perception, and Survival.
Powerful Attacks. When you score a critical hit with a weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

 

[pemerton]

I have said elsewhere that I think of D&D half-elves not so much as Tolkien's "Gotta choose: are you man or are you a muppet?" Instead, they seem better suited for characters like Aragorn, who are counted among the mortal "race of men," but who exude a majesty of the Numenoreans and Elves and blessed with long-lives, wisdom, and stature. So I prefer my half-elves less like Elrond Half-Elven in LotR but, instead, more like Elrond the Half-Elven in The Hobbit, Elros Half-Elven, the Numenoreans, and the Dunedain.

In AD&D terms, one way of thinking about Aragorn is as a Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger.

(Just for interest, Burning Wheel - which leans heavily into LotR/Silmarillion-esque Elves - has two options: an Elf character can cheaply purchase a "flavour" trait, Half-Elven; a human character can non-cheaply buy a mechanically heftier trait, "Fey-Blooded".)

 

[UngeheuerLich]

So making half elf bad is okay, then?

Because that is still a bad feat.

I don't know if anything can please you. If you think that is bad, ok. Your personal opinion. But not a fact.