New Design article: Elves

[Kae'Yoss]

Seems that subraces will go away - in favour of full-fledged races.

I wonder if FR sun elves will get their own racial write-up or just write over the eladrins' nameplate and use their cubicle.

I wonder what this change will mean to dwarves.

The old dwarf will also be "split" into two new races. The rude, mannerless, alcoholic racists will still be dwarves, and the overpowered melee fighters with a ton of bonuses on top of what other races get will be called mountwink.

 

[Tharen the Damned]

Ahh, finally we have real Treehuggers and Daisyeaters.
"No Sir, I don't eat meat, I rather smoke my weed!"
"That Orc there trod on a flower, I smite him with my power!"
I am already lovin' it.

Dwarves rule, now more than ever

 

[Remathilis]

The old dwarf will also be "split" into two new races. The rude, mannerless, alcoholic racists will still be dwarves, and the overpowered melee fighters with a ton of bonuses on top of what other races get will be called mountwink warforged.

Fixed that for you, Kae'Yoss

 

[Masquerade]

I smell a fight brewing ...

Sorry, not my intention. ^_^

Actually, if you wouldn't mind looking over the entries in the MM and giving your opinion on what you see, I'd be interested. I've liked the Eladrin since Planescape, so I'm a bit biased about them. But I've always seen them as a type of "ascended elf" myself, so the idea that Eladrin and elves might be related is not very jarring to me.

I would love to, once I have a MM in my hands again. My only MM1 is 3.0, and I only have my 3.5 books with me at the university. I'll see if I can grab someone else's and look it over.

 

[The_Gneech]

Actually, I like it ... but I'm disappointed that there's no crunch.

-The Gneech

 

[Horacio]

I really like it. I hope all races get a similar revision, I would love to see their ideas for halflings...

 

[Belen]

I don't mind the face, but the hips and mid-section don't look right to me. And that stance has to hurt her back.

Also, having read the entire write-up now, the fluff heavily reminds me of Katherine Kerr elves from her time-hopping celtic fantasy series whose name escapes me at the moment.

Deverry series, although those elves are more nomadic plainsmen.

 

[Michele Carter]

Or, consider this possibility. Perhaps the eladrin known to dwell amongst mortals are simply the weakest of their kin, the fey that interact most frequently with the material plane. In other worlds, places with strange names like Arcadia and Arborea, far more alien eladrin, with powers beyond those comprehensible to mortals and strange titles like "ghaele" and "bralani," are said to dwell.

You're a smart guy, Ari.

*whistles*

 

[Belen]

You're a smart guy, Ari.

*whistles*

You, I like.

 

[Jer]

Or, consider this possibility. Perhaps the eladrin known to dwell amongst mortals are simply the weakest of their kin, the fey that interact most frequently with the material plane. In other worlds, places with strange names like Arcadia and Arborea, far more alien eladrin, with powers beyond those comprehensible to mortals and strange titles like "ghaele" and "bralani," are said to dwell.

This allows for both the PC eladrin and the more potent ones who--except for being "fey" rather than "outsiders"--still serve more or less the same purpose in the multiverse.

This is ... actually kind of like how my current campaign is setup. Except with the PHB elves sitting where the "material plane" eladrin sit in the speculation above. So, I guess I'm horribly biased, but I like this idea an awful lot.

Like Whizbang Dustyboots, I've always seen the Planescape Eladrin like the Sidhe Court, but unlike him I actually decided to go ahead and use them that way in my games. Two different campaigns - one Planescape back in the day and the current one - and in both cases they fit really, really well as long as you don't try to make them fit the "chaotic good celestial" stereotype. I'm actually hoping the de-emphasis on alignment might mean we get "unseelie" types of eladrin as well (a spot that I filled in my older game using the "Shadow Elves" from the Ravenloft setting).