Holiday Present - The Elf PHB entry

[outsider]

These elves are pretty awesome. I've always been a fan of the nature focused/ranger style elves(not so big on the wizardly type ones). This collection of abilities is great for a ranger or a rogue. Dex, accuracy, speed(seems probable that they have a higher than normal base speed), and mobility. What more could a striker ask for?

One interesting thing to note is that they seem to have lost their good old sleep/charm resistances, I wonder if the Eladrin will have them? Probably pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, as sleep is really only a threat in low levels, and the wisdom bonus would give them a +1 to all will saves, rather than the +2 vs enchantment they had last edition.

One final thing I noted is that there's apparently no favored class anymore.

 

[Irda Ranger]

What I am struck by is just how few rules there are. Most of that is "fluff." The actual rules could be crammed into just 2-3 lines of text.

 

[Voss]

How do you get to that conclusion?

Because we've already seen 'feat' bonuses. This is a 'racial' bonus. Even if their are only 5 distinct types of bonuses in the first books, this sort of thing tends to creep. And once you're adding +5 or so to your basic bonuses, you're pretty much past the randomization limits of a d20 roll, all the time.

Its also just annoying to keep track of something a specific as
if there is an elf
and I am not an elf
and I am with 5 'squares' of said elf
and the elf is a friend
and I am making a perception roll
I get a +1.

or I can just ignore the whole thing and not care that there is a whole 5% variance.

The level of annoyance far outweighs the actual benefits.

 

[A'koss]

Is anyone else a bit bothered by the "aura" style bonuses that are appearing all over the place in 4e? It seems like these would be a pain to keep track of...

Depends how many there are really.

I agree that if you have several classes with overlapping aura effects it could get messy, especially if you have a slightly scattered party. Eg. The Paladin is radiating an Holy War Aura, the Warlord an Aura of Battle and the Cleric an Aura of Zealotry each affecting only some of the characters with overlapping effects (or characters moving into and out of auras with their increased combat mobility)... Yeah, I could see that getting ugly pretty quick.

 

[TwinBahamut]

I really like the look of this. I don't really know what else to say.

I especially like the idea of having three sample elves in the racial write-up.

Also, am I the only one who noticed that Mialee and Soveliss are sample elf names? I think that is a nice nod to old iconics (who are probably not around anymore).

 

[The Grackle]

Overall interesting and largely good.

Only major sour note is that we're still tracking stacks of insignificant bonuses. (which, with proper care and grooming, become a huge number that allows you to just win at whatever roll you're making.) Boo.

Yeah. A +1 racial bonus? More auras? *cringe*

It seems impossible that that they'd miss such frequent complaints and leave stacking rules unchanged. I'll bet they've done something, but we haven't seen it yet.

 

[Imperialus]

Yeah, I expect that that will quickly change to "allies within a reasonable distance" in my game.

 

[Incenjucar]

I loved it until I noticed they gave them GENETIC WEAPON PROFICIENCIES again.

Grrrr.

They are also horribly anorexic.

 

[A'koss]

Yeah, I expect that that will quickly change to "allies within a reasonable distance" in my game.

Agreed.

 

[Delta]

Yeah. A +1 racial bonus? More auras? *cringe*

It seems impossible that that they'd miss such frequent complaints and leave stacking rules unchanged. I'll bet they've done something, but we haven't seen it yet.

Well, I was surprised, sort-of, I guess. It's a bad idea. But then I'm a "don't believe the hype in the first place" kind of guy.