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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7150869" data-attributes="member: 58172">So, an analysis of the D&D tradition of various Elf themes and types, can split into two salient kinds of Elf. As a convenience, I will use the terms ‘Sun Elf’ and ‘Moon Elf’ to describe them.Sun Elf: Charisma Magic, Sunlight, Luminosity, Spirit World, Celestial Sky, Urban (Supertowers, Floating Cities)Moon Elf: Dexterity Martial, Nocturnal, Darkvision, Material World, Terrestial Land, Forest (Caves, Treehouses)All Elves, whether Sun or Moon, personify human physical pleasures and sensuality. All can potentially exhibit angelic or beastly features.So there are two Elf races, Sun and Moon. Each race allows for a high level of customization. For example the Moon Elf has the ‘Death Dance’ racial feature, emphasizing elegant fighting styles that optimize for Dexterity, but can choose any two weapons: you gain proficiency with two weapons, and can apply Dexterity to attack and damage instead of Strength, and can double the range of any missile or thrown weapon. However, each race tends to split up into ethnic groups, where the defining majority of the ethnicity make the same choices. For example, High Elf is a Moon Elf ethnicity that specializes in longsword and longbow, Wood Elf is an ethnicity that specializes in spear and longbow, and so on.Moon Elf ability score improvement: Your Dexterity score improves by 2, and one other ability score improves by 1.• High Elf: Dexterity +2, typically Charisma +1• Valley Elf: Dexterity +2, typically Intelligence +1• Wood Elf: Dexterity +2, typically Wisdom +1• Wild Elf: Dexterity +2, typically Strength +1Sun Elf ability score improvement: Your Charisma ability score improves by 2, and one other ability score improves by 1.• Sun Elf: Charisma +2, typically Intelligence +1• Aquatic Elf: Charisma +2, typically Strength +1There are also other Sun Elf ethnicities, besides Sun and Aquatic. The Sun Elf traits exhibit innate magic, allowing a choice of cantrip, teleportation, flight, waterbreathing, or so on. Again, each Sun Elf ethnic group tends to make the same choice, but idiosyncratic individuals might make a unique choice within that community. Being ‘psychic’ and ‘innately magical’, a Sun Elf can always apply their proficiency bonus to spellcasting even without a magic focus or musical instrument. Sun Elf strongly associates with the Bard class.The Grey Elf traditions are ambiguous, sometimes like the ‘Valley Elf’ here with Dex, and sometimes like the ‘Sun Elf’ here without Dex and with Cha.All Half Elves are Half Sun Elf, whence the Charisma bonus. Because most Sun Elves live in the spirit world, these Half-Human Sun Elves tend to be the only ones who Humans encounter in the material world. These Half Elves tend to flourish in either Human societies or in Moon Elf societies, but differ from both.Actual Half Moon Elves, can use either the Moon Elf traits or the Human Variant traits. If Moon Elf, then player has Dex +2, Any +1, and is encouraged to make unique choices for weapon proficiency and so on. If using Human Variant, one of the racial ability score improvements must be Dex. The Half Moon Elf qualifies for the racial feats, if any, of both parentages.</blockquote>

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