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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 9409987" data-attributes="member: 7635">So which elf would rather have:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">60 ft darkvision</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">fey ancestry</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">4 hour long rest, immune to sleep spells</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">proficiency in one of three wisdom skills</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">floating wizard cantrip (LR)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3rd level detect magic 1/day</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">5th level misty step 1/day.</li> </ul>OR <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">60 ft darkvision</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">fey ancestry</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">4 hour long rest, immune to sleep spells</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">proficiency in perception + one floating skill choice (change on LR)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">proficiency in one floating weapon/tool (change on LR)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">light-based cantrip (light, dancing light, sacred flame)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">teleport 30 ft as bonus action (not a spell) prof times per day at level 1.</li> </ul>The latter is significantly more powerful. Two bonus proficiencies that you can change daily, a non-spell teleport that you can use multiple times per day (and combine with spellcasting) is FAR better than detect magic and misty step 1/day (and if you have spell slots, you can use them to cast it again). Even beyond the obvious power imbalance, the aesthetics no longer make sense. The difference between a high, wood, and drow elf is now the type of innate magic they use. Before, the high elf had some minor magic and skills, wood elves have speed and stealth, and drow had magic and enhanced darkvision. They were distinct. Now they are not. And the other MotM/AAG elves reflect the old paradigm where elves had distinct abilities, not just different spells and aesthetics. I can't see how the two live side-by-side for long. Honestly, I predict that there will be some new species book sooner rather than later, so they can patch up the species that don't conform to the new design choices. There are a number of species (genasi, shifter, dhampir, warforged) that are going to need some "errata" now that they have changed how species traits and spells changed, and I fully suspect the other elf "subspecies" are going to either be bent to conform to the new elf OR maybe they will be spun off into different species unrelated to elves. (I could see eladrin and shadar-kai both becoming unique fey not connected to the elf species, while Astral and Sea elves becoming spell lists for the base elf).</blockquote>

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