D&D 5E Non-Eberron Changelings Should Be Primal Elves

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

This is a really simple connection, and I just wanted to make a thread discussing this idea I had.

Since Monsters of the Multiverse, Changelings have become less attached to Eberron and moved into the wider D&D Multiverse. And according to 5e Elven lore, Elves used to be genderfluid fey creatures that were able to shapechange at will until they gave up that ability because of Lolth. In Monsters of the Multiverse, Changelings are Fey that are able to shapechange at will (and even change size and genetic sex).

So . . . Changelings should be related to elves somehow. Maybe they're the ancestors of elves that didn't side with Lolth, so they never lost their ability to shapechange but were still cast out by Corellon to the Feywild because he's a jerk. Or maybe they're elves that have been blessed by Corellon to get back a bit of their shapechanging abilities (maybe after pleasing him in a former life, or something like that). Or if they ever make a First World/Prehistoric D&D setting, instead of having all of the types of Elves that we currently know of, they could present Changelings as the settings "Elf" race and say that all of the variant types haven't evolved yet.

That's it. Any thoughts? How would you approach this if you were to do something similar to this?

 

[Parmandur]

This is a really simple connection, and I just wanted to make a thread discussing this idea I had.

Since Monsters of the Multiverse, Changelings have become less attached to Eberron and moved into the wider D&D Multiverse. And according to 5e Elven lore, Elves used to be genderfluid fey creatures that were able to shapechange at will until they gave up that ability because of Lolth. In Monsters of the Multiverse, Changelings are Fey that are able to shapechange at will (and even change size and genetic sex).

So . . . Changelings should be related to elves somehow. Maybe they're the ancestors of elves that didn't side with Lolth, so they never lost their ability to shapechange but were still cast out by Corellon to the Feywild because he's a jerk. Or maybe they're elves that have been blessed by Corellon to get back a bit of their shapechanging abilities (maybe after pleasing him in a former life, or something like that). Or if they ever make a First World/Prehistoric D&D setting, instead of having all of the types of Elves that we currently know of, they could present Changelings as the settings "Elf" race and say that all of the variant types haven't evolved yet.

That's it. Any thoughts? How would you approach this if you were to do something similar to this?

That makes a good deal of sense, particularly with Changelings being Fey. Doppelganger are rooted in more sinister traditional Elf/Faerie lore, and Corellon as the Uber-Dopplegsnger is disturbing and puts an interesting new twist in things.

 

[Leatherhead]

I think we are being set up for a big feywild focused book sometime in the near future, maybe after 2024. There are a lot of races that are getting the fey overhaul. That said, not every fey creature has to be related to the elves.

The Changelings shapechange is just a bit too mechanically limited for what I would imagine for a "primal" elf. In my homebrew, Elves don't change shape so much as they "attune" to the nature of the world around them, effectively changing their subrace whenever they complete a ritual. Which is closer to what I would picture primal elves to do (though perhaps at a faster speed). The other alternative would be some kind of wildshape equivalent, but that's far too powerful as a racial feature.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

That makes a good deal of sense, particularly with Changelings being Fey. Doppelganger are rooted in more sinister traditional Elf/Faerie lore, and Corellon as the Uber-Dopplegsnger is disturbing and puts an interesting new twist in things.

Hmm. I don't think MotM connects Changelings and Doppelgangers, and the 5e Eberron book says that Doppelgangers are Changelings that the Daelkyr warped. So, I'd probably just make Multiversal Doppelgangers be Far Realm-warped Changelings (maybe connected to that Feywild and Far Realm adventure from Radiant Citadel), not make Corellon some uber-Doppelganger. But you do you.

I think we are being set up for a big feywild focused book sometime in the near future, maybe after 2024. There are a lot of races that are getting the fey overhaul. That said, not every fey creature has to be related to the elves.

I hope so. It would be awesome to get more Feywild content, but with The Wild Beyond the Witchlight having recently come out, I doubt it. And I'm not saying every fey creature has to be related to elves, just the one that shares major characteristics with some aspects of 5e lore's Primal Elves.

The Changelings shapechange is just a bit too mechanically limited for what I would imagine for a "primal" elf. In my homebrew, Elves don't change shape so much as they "attune" to the nature of the world around them, effectively changing their subrace whenever they complete a ritual. Which is closer to what I would picture primal elves to do (though perhaps at a faster speed). The other alternative would be some kind of wildshape equivalent, but that's far too powerful as a racial feature.

That's why I gave a few different options. Maybe they're a version of Elves as they were transforming into their less-mutable forms? Or are just elves Corellon blessed to give back some of their shapechanging.

 

[Vaalingrade]

On the contrary, I think they should be the true icon of humanity.

D&D loves to Picard it's way around 'why are these mundane sadboys in a world of fantasy and magic?' with 'humans are versatile and adaptable.

So... what if at one point is was or will actually be true?

 

[delericho]

While the link makes a great deal of sense, my gut reaction is strongly negative. D&D really needs to stop linking every single thing to elves.

 

[pukunui]

I like it.

Fits well with Discworld’s take on elves as shapechangers as well.

 

[cbwjm]

I prefer changlings to be some sort of monstrous aberration, though I tend not to use that bit of elven lore in my settings anyway.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Can you blame elves because changelings aren't wellcome by Lolth's fault? What if a changelling who lives tolerated and accepted in a community later is replaced by a clon created by an enemy faction?

 

[LordEntrails]

So . . . Changelings should be related to elves somehow.

No, just because two things may share a few traits, their is no reason that they need be related. Changlings as something original and interesting is much better than just another elf variant.