D&D 5E Decoupling ancestry and culture

[Haldrik]

I would go with next solution to ability scores and features.

1. Race/genetic abilities
+1 bonus to one of 3 racial prefered abilities. I.E. elves get +1 to dex, int or wis

I like the archetype of Charisma elves. So that triad would frustrate and interfere with my enjoyment of the game.

The lack in 5e of 4e charisma intelligence elf, bothers me.

So the Dexterity elf whether int or wis, might be something that seems "normal" to you. But it isnt inclusive.

 

[Haldrik]

By the way, it is easy to convert Player Handbook races to a format without ability score adjustments. +2 to a score equals a feat instead, and +1 to a score equals a half-feat.

Let the player choose according to concept. But "typical" feats already appear in Xanthars.