Unearthed Arcana Four New Elf Subraces in Unearthed Arcana

This month's Unearthed Arcana article gives us four new elf subraces to playtest. "After the positive response to the eladrin a couple of months ago in Unearthed Arcana, we decided to explore four more elf subraces: avariel (winged elves), grugach (the wild elves of Greyhawk), sea elves, and shadar-kai (deathly servants of the Raven Queen)."

​

 

[pukunui]

And all of this is completely by the rules.

Not really. The half-elf variant sidebar in the SCAG doesn't allow for open season on all elf subraces. Just the ones listed. It's possible they might open it up in the future, but at the moment, using it to give a half-elf an avariel's wings would *not* be "completely by the rules".

 

[EvanNave55]

Not really. The half-elf variant sidebar in the SCAG doesn't allow for open season on all elf subraces. Just the ones listed. It's possible they might open it up in the future, but at the moment, using it to give a half-elf an avariel's wings would *not* be "completely by the rules".

Ah, I guess you are right. The way I remembered it, it listed some options as examples and said any elf subrace trait could be the replacement, but I guess not.

When I tried just looking it up online earlier to confirm I came across several places that just said a trait from the elven parentage like this one, so it might confuse other people as well. However, looking it up from the book, it does restrict to that specific table of options.

 

[pukunui]

When I tried just looking it up online earlier to confirm I came across several places that just said a trait from the elven parentage like this one ...

I think the problem there is that the Half-Elf Variants rule isn't open content, so it appears blank unless you've paid for it. Note how the last sentence ends with a colon, suggesting that there is meant to be more content following.

 

[Lylandra]

To be fair, I always thought tieflings, aasimar and genasi were human subtypes, and that the underlying magical assumptions of the D&D cosmology suggests that humans are all racially identical for stat purposes.....except when something magical changes them, often by birthright.

To look at this from a more metacultural perspective, it's pretty easy for us to all agree that one reason you don't start assigning statistics to human racial groups is because A: it's a creepy judgement and how do you quantify this, let alone justify it, from a mechanical or scientific perspective when our own human experience already tells us that the real world does not work the way D&D mechanics do, B: it's uncomfortably close to the false science of past eras and fringe groups today who want to make those judgments; and C: even if this were culturally okay for some reason, actual science indicates that there are not, in fact, racial differences that can quantifiably be identified, let alone applied using D&D mechanics in a narratively coherent fashion.

Or put another way: if I were Inuit and you told me I get cold resistance, I'd laugh at you. (EDIT: But per othr post, if you told me I was of the Winter Ice Men and my goddess had gifted us with cold resistance, I'd be like....cool, sign me up)

Anyway: D&D as I said already does this, and it does this by adding magical elements to human types which makes them more than human, and also magical. Once magical, the rules suddenly make more sense and anything goes, pretty much.

Yep, I totally understand why making human "subraces" can easily descend to yucky territory and why I would never ever think of using racial modifiers for existing human cultures. Our earthling humans would all work the same, that's for sure

Never thought about Genasi, Aasimar etc. as human subraces to be honest. I read them in a way that could apply to a lot of parent races (i.e. an aasimar who originated from a dwarven bloodline or an elven air genasi). But it would work just fine as "magical human".

Also, I really don't *need* these subraces. But it feels very weird to me that all these majorly altering features still produce "elves" and not, for example, undines, gremlins (goblin's already taken), fae and... avariel as fey subspecies and closest siblings to the original elves.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

A while ago, there was a thread about someone being uncomfortable with stealing stuff from the barbarians in SKT, because they had some Native American elements added to the Viking elements (apparently it is totally cool to desecrate Vikings burial stuff). Even if the devs created a "brand new" race of humans, someone somewhere will decide that the "brand new" race is really just a reskinned version of a RW race, and problems will ensue. For a homebrew, go for it, but I think there is practically no chance of racial differences among humans in official D&D, particularly since you can transfer any gimmick for the new race to a new subrace of elves, dwarves, dragonborn, halflings, etc. with minimal social risk.

The Drow I think are a particular good example of how to make this work. Every so once in a while a protest that "the black elves are the evil ones" comes up, but it rarely goes anywhere. Partially (and possible the major reason) is that the Drow are popular. But it is also that the Drow don't do stereotypical "evil black" things: no shrunken heads or cannibal stew pots, native Drow don't go on rampages, Drow religion is as sophisticated as any other, the government isn't based on a petty warlord, and I don't recall any "gangsta" Drow (although if Michael Bay directs D&D the Movie, I am sure that will change). If anything stereotypical Drow fit the "Yellow Peril" type of evil, but they aren't yellow or oriental....

 

[Marandahir]

Eberron Drow though?

 

[MechaTarrasque]

Eberron Drow though?

Everyone knows DINO's (Drow In Name Only) don't count. I kid, I kid (only a little bit).

 

[Zero Cochrane]

For most campaigns, I don't think it is a good idea to just give a character the ability to fly, especially when fly is a 3rd-level spell and the draconic sorcerer doesn't gain wings until 14th level. It allows him to overcome many situations that would challange any character who cannot fly.

For player character races that can fly, consider the following progression of flight ability, based on character level:
1st level -- You can use an action to descend slowly as if a featherfall spell were cast upon you.
2nd level -- You can use a bonus action to descend slowly as if a featherfall spell were cast upon you.
3rd level -- As part of a move action, you can cause yourself to descend slowly as if a featherfall spell were cast upon you.
6th level -- You can make a "flight-assisted jump": your minimum horizontal jumping distance equals half your racial Fly Speed.
10th level -- You can fly at half your racial Fly Speed, but must land at the end of your turn or descend as per 3rd level.
12th level -- You can fly at your racial Fly Speed, but must land at the end of your turn or descend as per 3rd level.
14th level -- You can fly indefinitely at your racial Fly Speed.

 

[MechaPilot]

Any reason we get race after race and sub-race after sub-race of elves dwarves and halflings but we only get one race of humans? Why don't we get different races of humans in 5e?

If you'd like, you can use the human from my homebrew campaign setting.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...esian-Variant&highlight=human+tenesia+variant

 

[R_Chance]

IMO, you get sub-races of Elves, Dwarves etc. and not Humans because there are physical differences between the other species sub-races, and not just cultural ones. The Elves in AD&D were differed in size, life span, level limits, base characteristics and so on, it was more than simply cosmetic or cultural. Drow were not Drow just because of pigmentation. Cultural differences can be accounted for with Backgrounds or access to different Classes or Sub-Classes. You wouldn't need different sub-races for that.

If you want sub-races of Humans, they should be physically / biologically different as well. Standard Humans (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) versus, say Neanderthals (Homo Neanderthalensis), or one of the other existing (or some imaginary) types of Human. Then you have some reason for differences in abilities (and life span, etc.). Otherwise the differences between standard Humans are best done as Backgrounds.

Of course, given the rough similarities in form between Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Orcs, etc. and the apparent ability of some of them to interbreed, you might say you already have your variant Humans. Or Humans might be the variant...

Just a thought. In my game world the differences between the different sub-races of the species go back to a cataclysmic ancient war fought with high magic, divine power and raw chaos. Hence the physical differences between sub-races within a historical rather than evolutionary time frame. It works for me. It explains the physical differences, the divergence in culture, their adaptations to radically different environments (i.e. the sea) and so on. Oh, and the hatreds The origins of the separate races go back further in my games history.