D&D General 5E species with further choices and differences

[Dire Bare]

Even the Sea Elves and the Sky Elves (Avariel) look like cultures, teaching children how to cast a "Gills" cantrip and a "Wings" cantrip, respectively.

If the Sea Elf really is separate, I would rather merge it with the species Nixie.

In the current game, elves are a species that magically evolve to better suit the environmental niche they settle in . . . so sea elves evolved to breath underwater, avariel evolved wings . . .

I've toyed with the idea of creating an elf "trait" called "Environmental Adaptation" with options for breathing underwater, having wings . . . if Mom and Dad were both avariel elves, but for some reason you grew up in the underwater sea elven coral city, you'd be born with gills instead of wings!

 

[CreamCloud0]

Even the Sea Elves and the Sky Elves (Avariel) look like cultures, teaching children how to cast a "Gills" cantrip and a "Wings" cantrip, respectively.

If the Sea Elf really is separate, I would rather merge it with the species Nixie.

Except they’re not doing that, because there isn’t a ‘wings’ or ‘gills’ cantrip and it is never even vaguely insinuated they’re altering their bodies with magic, they fly and breathe water respectively by having physical adaptations they are born with, expecting a species to constantly be casting a spell on themselves so they can settle in an environment they’re fundamentally not suited for is just plain stupid, an elf isn’t a sea elf if there’s a chance they can drown by accident because their water breathing magic ran out or a sky elf if their wings can run out at the wrong moment.

 

[Yaarel]

In the current game, elves are a species that magically evolve to better suit the environmental niche they settle in . . . so sea elves evolved to breath underwater, avariel evolved wings . . .

I think this flavor is the designers trying to thread the needle between culture-only! versus elven-subspecies!

Which, I guess, worked well enough.

The Drabonborn didnt "evolve" from Dragons. The Dragon parents cast a spell on their Dragon egg and - presto changeo! - a Dragonborn.

An Elf can skip the waiting centuries to "evolve". Culture can do it with a ritual. Presto changeo! Gills. A handy cantrip, and-or ritual.

I've toyed with the idea of creating an elf "trait" called "Environmental Adaptation" with options for breathing underwater, having wings . . . if Mom and Dad were both avariel elves, but for some reason you grew up in the underwater sea elven coral city, you'd be born with gills instead of wings!

For the 2024 Elf, each culture "lineage" gains a cantrip-like trait, that can be used for things like Darkvision 120, gills, wings, etcetera. Or just write up these spell effects as normal spells and cantrips.

It is possible to balance flight capability at level 1. And waterbreathing is innocuous.

 

[Yaarel]

I care alot about the Elf species. I am satisfied with the 2024 Players Handbook format. It works well enough for any and every Elf concept.

If the DM needs to do something new, write up a balanced cantrip or spell for it. Done. Even write up a feat for it at the appropriate levels (origin, level 4, or boon).

Except they’re not doing that, because there isn’t a ‘wings’ or ‘gills’ cantrip and it is never even vaguely insinuated they’re altering their bodies with magic,

The elves shapeshift magically.

According to the Players Handbook, they lost the ability to do it "at will". But they still shapeshift "subtly" "over a millennium", in response to an environment.

Not all cultural magic is spells. People also learn how to do nonspell magical effects. This can include a cantrip-like benefit.

The Elf cantrip-like effect, such as Darkvision 120, is explicitly one of the "certain kinds of magic".

they fly and breathe water respectively by having physical adaptations they are born with, expecting a species to constantly be casting a spell on themselves so they can settle in an environment they’re fundamentally not suited for is just plain stupid, an elf isn’t a sea elf if there’s a chance they can drown by accident because their water breathing magic ran out or a sky elf if their wings can run out at the wrong moment.

If using the 2024 Elf, the waterbreathing can be its cantrip-like benefit: magic, but not a spell.

(It could still be learned culturally, whether the parent did a "mythal" ritual, or the child learned how to work this magic. Or both.)

 

[Corinnguard]

honestly the main elf subspecies probably do make more sense as cultures than subspecies, then for actual subspecies you could go with a land-sea-sky dynamic with eladrin(maybe they also get to steal +5ft from wood elves), sea elves and winged elves.

Hence the move in A5e to make the various subspecies in 5e into actual cultures.

The Drabonborn didnt "evolve" from Dragons. The Dragon parents cast a spell on their Dragon egg and - presto changeo! - a Dragonborn

There was a 3pp back in the 3e era that talked about an arcane ritual called Egg Sculpting. This ritual allowed an arcane caster to magically alter unborn dragons into whatever they wanted. It came after whatever ritual was used to create the Draconians in the Dragonlance setting in 1e/2e. Maybe the Draconians and the Noble Draconians were sculpted by the very same ritual.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Ah, yes, the ever-so-wonderful "white room" argument, which is no argument at all. It's just a no-engagement dismissal, "you have nothing worth listening to so I'm not listening to you" response.

No. I am arguing quite specifically that your claim is only true in equations.

It is a big deal. I've seen it be a big deal. You are telling me my personal lived experience is "white room" theory, totally inapplicable to real life.

Overdramaticising a straightforward argument into some sort of personal affront is an actual non-argument.

It's straight-up better than all but a small set of feats, most of which are much more niche. This applies to anyone who makes attack rolls using anything but Strength (since, to the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as a Con-based attack roll in 5e.)

Its broadly applicable, and a moderate difference.

The game is effectively balanced around nearly all attacks hitting, and crits arent that big in 5e.

It makes the biggest difference for characters that are making singular big hits, because its primary benefit to the character is making it rare that their turn is wasted.

 

[eclair~]

It really should be pointed out that, whether how high you think Elven Accuracy rates in 2014 5e, 2024 5e makes advantage far easier to get on attacks, especially for Dexterity-based weapon users (who will be making most if not all of their attacks with a Vex weapon). When the "average" works out to at least two out of three attacks hitting, getting three attack rolls for every attack you make is obviously a huge boon to your accuracy.

Elven Accuracy, frankly, should have been a character option for elves. Present it as an alternative to spells-as-a-feature—you can take the Obligatory Misty Step, or you can have a revised Elven Accuracy. But that would have required the designers to be more creative than fixating species entirely around what spells they get free access to.

(And let's be frank: Elven Accuracy hasn't been reprinted in the new books to purposefully allow optimizers to make use of the feat, because the designers realize how well it synergizes with 2024 5e's trigger-happy approach to advantage and didn't want to deny such players the option.)