No Elf and Dwarf classes

[Alan Shutko]

I'm in the minority, but I actually like race and class being conjoined. A dwarf fighter shouldn't be identical to a human or elf fighter. But as mentioned, it's homebrewable.

 

[Ratinyourwalls]

What happens if my Dwarf takes the Elf class?

The Dwarf has hung out with elves long enough that he has gained their trust and has adapted his fighting style to their own.

 

[thedungeondelver]

I'm actually OK with the no race-as-class. It's weird and wonky to me (yes).

 

[kitsune9]

Does that make a gnome-elf-halfling a gelfling?

Gelfling knows nothin'! But Aughra knows! Yes, yes! Aughra knows! End of Aughra! Hm!

 

[blalien]

Thank God. I can't believe people actually wanted them back. Just because 5e is trying to emulate the feel of older editions doesn't mean it has to bring back all their terrible ideas.

 

[Ichneumon]

Race-as-class was one of those of-its-time concepts that had a degree of charm, but was unlikely to be adopted these days. Others can think as they wish, but I now consider it a dead topic.

 

[WheresMyD20]

If you're going to have an elf or a dwarf class, then you need a human. Doesn't much make sense.

I think there's a lot of misconception regarding racial classes in the old editions. They aren't meant to imply that all elves and all dwarves are the same. They are meant to model the most typical elf or dwarf that would go adventuring. Think of the "elf" and "dwarf" classes more like "elf adventurer" and "dwarf warrior".

Humans, since they are much more common and more likely to go adventuring, are broken out into multiple classes.

The advantage of racial classes (if they are done well) is that they can really differentiate the non-human characters from the human characters. The elf class in the old editions was mechanically different from any of the human classes and really drove home the idea that elves are alien and different from humans.

The disadvantage of race/class is that often times, especially at high levels, the racial part becomes trivial. From 1e onwards, how different is an elf fighter from a human fighter? There's a little bit of difference, but it's mostly just seasoning - human and elven fighters are mostly pretty similar.

 

[avin]

Just curious, in Dark Sun we got Mul, son of a human and a dwarf.

Is there a Dwarf + Elf son around in any official D&D supplement?