D&D 3E/3.5 For 3.5, which race needs tweaking.

[Merlion]

Ohh and yes I almost forgot elves should DEFINITELY be taller...this short elf stuff has always bugged me.

 

[Ysgarran]

Come on, guys. Tolkien's estate had to sue TSR once already, I don't think anyone wants a repeat of that...

Is there any information on this anywhere? The biggest licensing problem that I remember was the first printing of Deites and Demigods (i.e. the one with the Cthulhu and Melnibonean myths).

 

[Shard O'Glase]

Ohh and yes I almost forgot elves should DEFINITELY be taller...this short elf stuff has always bugged me.

I prefer short elves, and they are long lived enough. I'll accept imortal elves when there is a potion of imortality for 25SP at every corner store.

 

[Merlion]

I already said I know there never going to make them immortal..and I understand why. But again...all mythic elves and most literary elves are. And the literary elves that arent immortal usualy have a livespan of a thousand years or better.
Well short is fine..it just doesnt make any sense to me for the above reasons. Most elves I've run into in fantasy are either taller than humans, or very small creatures like the Nordic elves.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

I already said I know there never going to make them immortal..and I understand why. But again...all mythic elves and most literary elves are. And the literary elves that arent immortal usualy have a livespan of a thousand years or better.
Well short is fine..it just doesnt make any sense to me for the above reasons. Most elves I've run into in fantasy are either taller than humans, or very small creatures like the Nordic elves.

750 years is a long time, thousands may fit better with some books but I think they didn't want one race to be so different lifespan wise that it made their flavor beneifts too attractive.

And short, well I just like short women so a race of short hot people is cool to me.

 

[Merlion]

Your exactly right. it still annoys me a little tho. Course its not anyones fault. you almost have to have Elves as a PC race in any standard RPG but making them exactly...or even all that much like...mythic elves or Tolkien elves would give them a level adjustment the size of Gondor.

I just think the tallness is something they COULD do to put them more in line with literature.

 

[Gez]

I just think the tallness is something they COULD do to put them more in line with literature.

They should have the same size than in Elfquest.

 

[Malin Genie]

Gnomes.

As things stand, they have a more restrictive favoured class than anyone else (Illusionist as opposed to Wizard), a weird grab-bag of bonuses (+2 to Alchemy, Listen, Illusion saves, Constitution, ) which don't really synergise well IMHO.

Compare to halflings, whose +1 size modifier to AC and attack synergises with their +2 Dex, +4 to Hide with their +2 racial Move Silently bonus, favoured class (rogue) plays to the attribute and skills they get bonuses in, etc)

Maybe it's just the power-gamer in me, but whenever I think of making a small-size character and do the numbers, I always come out thinking the halfling build is a lot better than the gnome build (the introdcution of Tallfellow/Deep/Strongheart variant halflings just makes the imbalance worse.)

 

[Merlion]

Gnomes also get to-hit bonuses against some creatures, the dodge bonus against giants, and several cantrips and one first level spell once each per day for free, and low light vision(unlike halflings although I think halflings shoud get it).
There other bonuses dont do anything for each other, but they make sense with how gnomes are supposed to be. Of course there going to get a bonus against illusions and illusionist specialficaly as there favored class. And the Alchemy reflects there love of tinkery-magic type things.

 

[Apok]

Half-elf.

I have yet to see any reason to play a half-elf over a human or a full-blooded elf.