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Half-Elves are taking over my game! (Or are Humans underpowered?)
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<blockquote data-quote="Xeviat" data-source="post: 7884378" data-attributes="member: 57494"><p>Hi all. Yet again, my wife has made a half-elf character. Looking back, half-elves have been the most picked race in my 5E games. On our vacation, we put together some quick characters for a one-shot and it made me take a long look at the half-elf.</p><p></p><p>Half-Elf</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Your Charisma score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Medium-sized.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Your walking speed is 30 feet.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Skill Versatility. You gain proficiency in two skills of your choice.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and one extra language of your choice.</li> </ul><p></p><p>Pathfinder 2 did a nifty thing where the half-humans were presented as subraces of Human. And that got me really looking at their differences.</p><p></p><p>Variant Human</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">2 different ability scores of your choice increase by 1.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Medium-sized.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Your base walking speed is 30 feet.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You gain one feat of your choice.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice.</li> </ul><p></p><p>If you do a little linguistic math, you get the following differences:</p><p></p><p>Human</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You gain one feat of your choice</li> </ul><p></p><p>vs Half-Elf</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Your Charisma increases by 2</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Darkvision</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic cannot put you to sleep.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You can speak, read, and write Elvish.</li> </ul><p></p><p>That's … clearly a bit much for a feat, especially considering Charisma +2 is already worth a feat.</p><p></p><p>Even without the +2 Charisma, it might be a worthwhile feat. Darkvision, Fey Ancestry, a skill proficiency, and Elvish might be a bit much. A skill proficiency is 1/3rd of a feat. A language is like 1/8th of a feat. Darkvision and Fey Ancestry are difficult to weigh.</p><p></p><p>I'm not sure what to do with this view, though. I've long thought Humans should get a bit of a buff. Maybe Half-Elves should get a bit of a nerf too. It might just be because Bards, Paladins, Sorcerers, and Warlocks have been popular at my table, but I'm seeing too many Half-Elves and not enough humans.</p><p></p><p>What do you think?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Xeviat, post: 7884378, member: 57494"] Hi all. Yet again, my wife has made a half-elf character. Looking back, half-elves have been the most picked race in my 5E games. On our vacation, we put together some quick characters for a one-shot and it made me take a long look at the half-elf. Half-Elf [LIST] [*]Your Charisma score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1. [*]Medium-sized. [*]Your walking speed is 30 feet. [*]Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. [*]Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep. [*]Skill Versatility. You gain proficiency in two skills of your choice. [*]You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and one extra language of your choice. [/LIST] Pathfinder 2 did a nifty thing where the half-humans were presented as subraces of Human. And that got me really looking at their differences. Variant Human [LIST] [*]2 different ability scores of your choice increase by 1. [*]Medium-sized. [*]Your base walking speed is 30 feet. [*]You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice. [*]You gain one feat of your choice. [*]You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. [/LIST] If you do a little linguistic math, you get the following differences: Human [LIST] [*]You gain one feat of your choice [/LIST] vs Half-Elf [LIST] [*]Your Charisma increases by 2 [*]Darkvision [*]Advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic cannot put you to sleep. [*]You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice. [*]You can speak, read, and write Elvish. [/LIST] That's … clearly a bit much for a feat, especially considering Charisma +2 is already worth a feat. Even without the +2 Charisma, it might be a worthwhile feat. Darkvision, Fey Ancestry, a skill proficiency, and Elvish might be a bit much. A skill proficiency is 1/3rd of a feat. A language is like 1/8th of a feat. Darkvision and Fey Ancestry are difficult to weigh. I'm not sure what to do with this view, though. I've long thought Humans should get a bit of a buff. Maybe Half-Elves should get a bit of a nerf too. It might just be because Bards, Paladins, Sorcerers, and Warlocks have been popular at my table, but I'm seeing too many Half-Elves and not enough humans. What do you think? [/QUOTE]
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